Investors welcomed testimony from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that recent economic weakness was due to inclement weather. The markets closed higher with the Dow gaining 74points to 16,272. Nasdaq climbed 26 points to 4318.
On the upside
Shares of BioFuel Energy (Nasdaq: BIOF) soared after The Wall Street Transcript published a report on the outlook for biofuels and biochemicals.
Career Education (Nasdaq: CECO) narrowed fourth quarter losses more than expected.
Inteliquent (Nasdaq: IQNT) swung to a better than expected profit for the fourth quarter.
On the downside
Questcor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: QCOR) extended its losses.
Fourth quarter earnings and revenue rose for LKQ (Nasdaq: LKQ) but the results missed expectations.
BioScrip (Nasdaq: BIOS) fell to a greater than expected loss for the fourth quarter.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 9 points to 1854. Bitcoin eased $7.84 or 1.35% to $574.96.
