Upbeat earnings from Alcoa lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 10 points to 14,624. Nasdaq added 4 points to 3226.
On the upside
MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG) partnered with INTEGRA Software Systems to offer an electronic loan origination experience.
ZIOPHARM Oncology (Nasdaq: ZIOP) reported preclinical data in support of DNA-based therapy to treat breast cancer.
Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) and Shaw Communications successfully transmitted 400 Gigabit per second data over an existing high capacity network.
On the downside
J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) fired chief executive Ron Johnson and replaced Johnson with former chief executive Mike Ullman.
Medley Capital (NYSE: MCC) priced its public offering of 4 million common shares at the discounted price of $14.70 per share.
BSD Medical (Nasdaq: BSDM) a registered direct offering of $5 million worth of common stock and warrants.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a slim margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index held steady at 1563.
