The markets closed mixed with the Dow losing 13 points to 12,449 as the European debt crisis continued to weigh on investors. Nasdaq rose 8 points to 2710.
On the upside
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) chief financial officer Simon Dingemans described the company’s relationship with Human Genome Sciences (Nasdaq: HGSI) in a very positive light prompting speculation that GlaxoSmithKline may be exploring the possible acquisition of Human Genome.
Motley Fool noted that Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) had $433 million in goodwill and other intangible assets on its balance sheet.
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ), Hanwha SolarOne (Nasdaq: HSOL) and Yingli Green Energy all climbed after Deutsche Bank analyst Vishal Shah wrote that solar panel demand is expected to be strong in the first half of the year.
On the downside
Falling natural gas prices weighed down shares of Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE: COG) and Range Resources (NYSE: RRC).
Universal American (NYSE: UAM) will pay approximately $227.5 million to acquire privately held APS Healthcare.
Hill-Rom Holdings (NYSE: HRC) lowered its full year outlook.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 767.
