Investors welcomed upbeat earnings news by lifting the markets higher during the midday with the Dow climbing 64 points to 13,777. Nasdaq rose 9 points to 3153. On the upside
KB Home (NYSE: KBH) reported sharply higher new orders prompting an upgrade. National Traders Association issued a research report on Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (NYSE: KERX) saying that upcoming marketing approval for the company's kidney disease treatment Zerenex will improve company outlook. Fourth quarter earnings rose for IBM (NYSE: IBM) to top analyst estimates. On the downside TheStreet reported that Star Scientific (Nasdaq: STSI) deceived investors by implying that John Hopkins was involved in one of its clinical tests.Tata Motors (NYSE: TATA) reported that growth slowed at its Jaguar Land Rover division. Profit taking sank shares of Synovus Financial (NYSE: SNV). In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index added a point to 1493.