The markets opened mixed with the Dow slipping 27 points to 12,475 while Nasdaq rose 3 points to 2840 as consumer confidence fell.

On the upside

The Wall Street Journal reported that News Corp. (Nasdaq: NWSA) may spinoff its publishing operations.

A Seeking Alpha contributor noted that Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) was a bargain among fertilizer stocks.

Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL) reported lower third quarter earnings and revenue but the results were better than expected.

On the downside

Shares of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) continued falling after Microsoft unveiled its new Windows Phone 8 last week. Current Windows phones will not be able to upgrade to the new platform.

Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) stock continued falling after Standard & Poor’s announced last week that Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE: ALEX) would replace the coal company on the S&P MidCap 400 index.

Piper Jaffray downgraded Valueclick (Nasdaq: VCLK) to a Neutral rating.

In the broad market, declining issues barely edged out advancers by a slim margin on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 761.