The markets opened flat with the Dow rising 4 points to 17,088 while Nasdaq slipped 7 points to 4,823 as investors awaited earnings reports.

On the upside

Celsion (Nasdaq: CLSN) reported upbeat preclinical data for its GEN-1 IL-12 in combination with Avastin and Doxil to treat ovarian cancer.

Shares of Esperion Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ESPR) rose after Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) discontinued development of its heart disease treatment.

Shares of Xenoport (Nasdaq: XNPT) continued to rise.

On the downside

Sientra (Nasdaq: SIEN) recommended that plastic surgeons temporarily discontinue implanting devices manufactured by Silimed and has temporarily discontinued the sale of Silimed devices.

Shares of VMware (NYSE: VMW), which is 80% owned by EMC (NYSE: EMC), fell on news that Dell offered to purchase EMC in a deal valued at approximately $67 billion.

SunCoke Energy (NYSE: SXC) reported lower third quarter earnings and revenue.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 7 to 5 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 slipped 2 points to 2,012. Bitcoin lost $1 to $244.