The markets opened higher with the Dow gaining 46 points to 16,302 over upbeat corporate earnings. Nasdaq climbed 24 points to 4137.
On the upside
MagneGas (Nasdaq: MNGA) filed a new patent for novel methods of binding MagneGas to existing hydrocarbons.
Constant Contact (Nasdaq: CTCT) reported higher preliminary first quarter revenue and lifted its full year revenue forecast.
Wells Fargo upgraded Sinclair Broadcast Group (Nasdaq: SBGI) from a Market Perform rating to an Outperform rating.
On the downside
Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT) priced its public offering of 7.5 million common shares at the discounted price of $10.70 per share.
UBS downgraded Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) from a Neutral rating to a Sell rating and lowered its price target from $5 to $3.
UBS downgraded Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) from a Neutral rating to a Sell rating and cut its price target from $5 to $3.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 5 points to 1857. Bitcoin slipped $5.98 or 1.34% to $441.52.