Upbeat Economic Data Lifts Markets Higher

Better than expected construction spending and pending home sales in March boosted the markets during the midday with the Dow soaring 167 points to 8379. Nasdaq climbed 29 points to 1748.

On the upside

Shares of Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE) and Foundation Coal Holdings (NYSE: FCL) climbed after Goldman Sachs upgraded the coal sector.

Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) will provide Topinfrasolar with an additional 5 megawatts of solar products.

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) reported lower April traffic and capacity data but demand has stabilized.

On the downside

Motley Fool's investment community gave BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BCRX) a one-star rating, the lowest ranking.

Comtech (Nasdaq: CMTL) will offer $200 million in convertible senior notes through a private placement.

Although fourth quarter earnings for Haemonetics (NYSE: HAE) rose to top estimates, the company forecast full year revenue that fell short of expectations.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 10 points to 497.