Despite a slip in November wholesale inventories, the markets opened higher with the Dow rising 47 points to 11,685. Nasdaq gained 7 points to 2715.
On the upside
Fourth quarter earnings slipped for Lennar (NYSE: LEN) but the results surpassed analyst estimates as margins improved.
Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL) reported lower earnings for the first quarter but the results beat expectations.
The Sunday Business Post reported that Governor and Company of The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE).
On the downside
Talbots (NYSE: TLB) blamed disappointing holiday sales for slashing its outlook for the fourth quarter.
Supervalu (NYSE: SVU) swung to a wider than expected loss for the fourth quarter and lowered its 2011 guidance.
Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) announced the immediate resignation of chief executive Dirk Meyer after market close yesterday and appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer Thomas Seifert as interim chief executive.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 793.
