Weak economic data renewed hope that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady sending the markets higher during the midday with the Dow gaining 62 points to 16,392. Nasdaq added 8 points to 4,804.
On the upside
Akebia Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AKBA) named Teresa Compton, PhD. to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Ramin Farzaneh-Far, MD to the position of Vice President of Medical Research and Ed Joyce to the position of Vice President, Investor Relation and Corporate Communication.
Violin Memory (Nasdaq: VMEM) installed and deployed its 7300 Flash Storage Platform in the San Francisco 49ers data center.
Bargain hunters lifted shares of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO).
On the downside
Shares of Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) extended its losses.
Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) disappointed with sharply lower second quarter earnings and the company forecast current quarter results below analyst estimates.
Second quarter earnings for Mattress Firm Holding (Nasdaq: MFRM) fell short of analyst expectations.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,955. Bitcoin eased a fraction to $238.
