The markets opened mixed with the Dow losing 24 points to 15,275 while Nasdaq added 3 points to 3507 ahead of the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting.

On the upside

Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) president and chief executive Joseph Carrabba will retire by the end of the year. 

Raymond James upgraded Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) from an Underperform rating to a Market Perform rating. 

Ctrip International (NYSE: CTRP) denied rumors that it was being acquired.

On the downside

Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR) warned that second quarter earnings would fall short of expectations.

Cleveland Research said that June domestic comps for Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) slowed.

Kayne Anderson (NYSE: KYN) priced its public offering of 6.2 million common shares at the discounted price of $36.00 per share.   

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE while advancers edged out decliners by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index slipped 2 points to 1649.