A drop in mortgage rates to a record low 3.89% lifted the markets to a modestly higher close with the Dow rising 21 points to 12,471. Nasdaq gained 13 points to 2724.
On the upside
Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN) presented at the 14th Annual ICR XChange Conference in Miami yesterday.
A Seeking Alpha contributor expects solar stocks to rally in 2012 lifting shares of Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) and Hanwha SolarOne (Nasdaq: HSOL).
Wells Fargo initiated coverage of SunCoke Energy (NYSE: SXC) with an Outperform rating.
On the downside
WPX Energy (NYSE: WPX) reported production at its Bakken Shale of 6,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day in October 2011 and expects to increase production to 20,000 BOE per day by the end of 2012.
Shares of Precision Drilling (NYSE: PDS) continued falling even though Dahlman Rose initiated coverage of the stock yesterday with a Buy rating.
Covance (NYSE: CVD) affirmed its full year guidance at the 30th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference yesterday.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 3 points to 770.
