The markets opened lower as investors continued to wrestle with more troubling news from the financial services sector. The Dow slipped 10 points to 11,885 while Nasdaq gave up 2 points to 1291.

On the upside

Nationwide Financial Services (NYSE: NFS) announced that it has received all-cash deal to be acquired by its parent company Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Tessera Technologies (Nasdaq: TSRA) announced a court date in its efforts to win back its chip design patents and to pursue Amkor's failure to pay royalties.

Shares of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SPPI) surged after the FDA approved its bone cancer drug treatment last Friday.

On the downside

Countrywide (NYSE: CFC) was the target of FBI probes into securities fraud, according to media reports.

Analysts downgraded Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA) following last Friday's announcement that the lender would restate its financials due to impairment losses on assets.

Shares of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) lost ground after a Barron's report over the weekend suggested the stock may lose another 20% in the short term.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 4 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped a fraction to 659.