The markets opened mixed with the Dow rising 34 points to 26,149 while Nasdaq slipped 5 points to 7293 as housing starts fell more than expected in December.

On the upside

ValueAct Capital Management acquired a stake in AES (NYSE: AES).

PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the first quarter.

Bargain hunters lifted shares of Exact Sciences (Nasdaq: EXAS).

On the downside

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) widened fourth quarter losses more than expected.

Shares of Albermarle (NYSE: ALB) extended its losses.

Fourth quarter revenue for Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) fell.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 held steady at 2,802. Bitcoin leaped $713 to $11,825.