The Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 wavered Wednesday, but shares of book seller Borders Group Inc. advanced after chatter indicated the company might be sold to rival Barnes & Noble Inc.
The index rose 1.39 points to 880.98. During the session, it traded between 878.21 and 886.00.
The S&P MidCap 400 is an index used to track mid-sized companies which have a market capitalization of $1.5 billion to $5.5 billion. According to S&P, midcap stocks make up roughly 7 percent of the U.S. equities market.
Borders shares gained 77 cents, or 12.1 percent, to $7.12 after the Wall Street Journal reported that Barnes & Noble is looking into a buyout of its smaller rival.
Telecommunications contractor Dycom Industries Inc. added $1.07, or 6.7 percent, to $16.96. The company's fiscal third-quarter results exceeded analyst estimates, and Dycom approved a new stock buyback and gave a relatively optimistic forecast for the fourth quarter.
UBS analyst Ronald Barone upgraded shares of energy company National Fuel Gas Co. to "Buy" from "Neutral," and the stock advanced $3.62, or 6.2 percent, to $62.36, and reached a high of $63.71 earlier.
On the down side, shares of Alaska Air Group Inc. fell $1.45, or 7 percent, to $19.15. The airline sector came under pressure Wednesday after AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, said it will reduce flights, cut jobs and retire older planes to help cancel out the rising cost of fuel.
Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. lost $1.78, or 6.5 percent, to $25.70. Schering-Plough Corp. said Wednesday that it began trials of its hepatitis C drug candidate boceprevir, a rival to Vertex's candidate telaprevir.
Mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc. lost 35 cents, or 6 percent, to $5.51.
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