Dow Posts Modest Gain, but Nasdaq Slips

Health services stocks weren't faring as well. UnitedHealth (UNH Quote) announced yesterday that it would cut 4,000 jobs. Shares tumbled 8.6% to $22.96. Aetna (AET Quote), WellPoint (WLP Quote) and Cigna (CI Quote) all sank on the news.

Meanwhile, Penn National Gaming (PENN Quote) was the beneficiary of a canceled $6.1 billion buyout deal with Fortress Investment Group and Centerbridge Partners. The gaming company announced it would receive about $1.48 billion as a result of the scuttled agreement. It closed up 3.7% at $29.66.

Treasuries were falling. The 10-year note was down 3/32 in price, yielding 3.97%, and the 30-year was down 13/32, yielding 4.53%.

Overseas, European markets were higher. The FTSE of London was up 0.9%, and the DAX of Frankfurt gained 0.8%. In Asia, the Nikkei in Japan and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell.

In terms of breadth, decliners led advancers 5-to-4 at the New York Stock Exchange, on volume of 931.9 million shares, and down stocks outpaced up stocks 2-to-1 on the Nasdaq on volume of 1.41 billion shares.