On the upside

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) posted lower profits due to a tax charge, but revenues grew on an increase of cellphone accounts.

BEA System (Nasdaq: BEAS) refuted criticism about the way that it is handling the sale of the company after it rejected a $17 a share bid from Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) as too low.

Electronics retailer Radio Shack (NYSE: RSH) posted a 3rd quarter profit versus year-ago losses as product margins improved.

On the downside

Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM) shares were downgraded by an analyst on competitive concerns and the effect of slowing consumer spending on the fitness center operator.

Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC) pulled back from Friday's record rally as an analyst downgraded the stock due to persistent doubts about the housing market's imminent recovery.

Shares of chipmaker Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) was downgraded by an analyst who worried about the chipmaker's longer term outlook due to product offerings from competitors.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by a margin of 4 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 3 points to 825.