Reports that Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will resign lifted the markets to a sharply higher close with the Dow soaring 101 points to 12,170. Nasdaq surged 32 points to 2727.
On the upside
The Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track status to Opexa Therapeutics' (Nasdaq: OPXA) multiple sclerosis treatment Tovaxin.
Iridium Communications (Nasdaq: IRDM) reported higher third quarter earnings along with record revenue prompting the company to lift its full year guidance.
Third quarter earnings surged for DealerTrack Holdings (NYSE: TRAK) to surpass analyst expectations by a wide margin and the company raised its full year forecast.
On the downside
QuinStreet (Nasdaq: QNST) reported lower first quarter earnings and revenue prompting the online marketing services firm to cut its full year revenue guidance.
James River Coal (Nasdaq: JRCC) swung to a loss for the third quarter as expenses soared.
First quarter earnings tumbled for WMS Industries (NYSE: WMS) to fall short of expectations as revenue dropped.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 10 points to 755.
