On the upside
The cost of insuring loans dropped for Citigroup (NYSE: C) as its outlook dramatically improved. Banking stocks rose with shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) joining the rally.4th quarter sales and profits rose for Kroger (NYSE: KR), the nation's largest grocery store chain.
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) announced plans to cut 11,600 jobs while lowering its 2009 outlook.
The casino sector also joined the rally. Shares of Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) and MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) climbed sharply.
On the downside
Unmanned aircraft maker AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV) lowered its revenue targets for 2009.
In the broad market, advancing issues overwhelmed decliners by a margin
of 8 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 6 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which
tracks small cap stocks climbed 16 points to 359.