Mortgage rates fell last week to a record low to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 48 points to 12,883. Nasdaq slipped 3 points to 2931.
On the upside
Roth Capital upgraded Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: KERX) to a Buy rating and lifted its price target to $7 from $4.
Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) expects to deliver its Model S sedan in June, one month earlier that previously announced.
Monster Beverage (Nasdaq: MNST) reported record first quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst expectations.
On the downside
Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) reported higher third quarter earnings but the company forecast current quarter results below analyst expectations.
Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN) reported higher first quarter earnings but the results missed estimates.
Silicon Graphics (Nasdaq: SGI) narrowed first quarter losses but the company forecast second quarter results that fell short of expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 4 points to 793.