Discussions between the U. S. and China at the Strategic and Economic Dialogue opened with China taking a more assertive stance on investment, currency and trade issues. The markets traded mixed during the midday with the Dow falling 47 points to 10,146 while Nasdaq rose 6 points to 2235.
On the upside
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty lifted her price target for Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) to $310 from $275 citing expanding sales in China and said the stock may climb as high as $400.
Goldman Sachs upgraded Citigroup (NYSE: C) to a Buy rating .
A surprisingly strong gain in existing home sales lifted shares of Home Depot (NYSE: HD).
On the downside
Goldman Sachs downgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC).
Dynegy (NYSE: DYN) announced on Friday that shareholders approved a 1-for-5 reverse stock split to take effect on or about May 25, 2010.
Puerto Rican bank Popular (Nasdaq: BPOP) announced the resignation of chief executive David Chafey, Jr. effective immediately.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 4 to 3 on the NYSE while decliners barely edged out advancers by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 648.
