Sales of previously owned homes rose in April to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 56 points to 12,561. Nasdaq climbed 15 points to 2862.
On the upside
Angelo Gordon & Co. will take Benihana (Nasdaq: BNHN) private in a deal valued at approximately $296 million.
Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations as revenue climbed and the clothing company doubled its quarterly dividend.
Global Hunter Securities initiated coverage of DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) with a Buy rating.
On the downside
Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) stock continued falling on its third day of trading.
First quarter earnings rose for Express (NYSE: EXPR) but the results fell short of expectations prompting the apparel retailer to lower its full year outlook.
Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) chief financial officer John Kurtzweil resigned yesterday.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 4 points to 769.
