The markets closed higher with the Dow gaining 60 points to 12,482 as China's economy continued to expand in the fourth quarter. Nasdaq climbed 17 points to 2728.
On the upside
Goldman Sachs analyst Patrick Archambault upgraded Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) to a Buy rating.
Rumors circulated that Samsung may be interested in acquiring parts of Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) or even the entire company.
Motley Fool recommended against buying Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) but the stock price rose.
On the downside
A Food and Drug Administration staff report said that Columbia Laboratories' (Nasdaq: CBRX) and Watson Pharmaceuticals' (NYSE: WPI) progesterone gel to prevent preterm birth was ineffective.
Shares of Patriot Coal (NYSE: PCX) fell after Citi Investment Research analyst Brian Yu said that coal prices are expected to drop in 2012 on weak demand amidst higher production.
The partial sinking of Carnival (NYSE: CCL) cruise ship Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy weighed down shares of rival Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point to 765.
