The markets advanced during the midday with the Dow soaring 107 points to 12,912 as June housing start climbed to its highest level October 2008. Nasdaq leaped 38 points to 2948.
On the upside
The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent Galena Biopharma (Nasdaq: GALE) for its NeuVax breast cancer vaccine.
EMC (NYSE: EMC) reported higher preliminary second quarter earnings and revenue.
Second quarter earnings rose for Check Point Software Technologies (Nasdaq: CHKP) to top analyst estimates.
On the downside
Oppenheimer downgraded New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU) to a Market Perform rating.
Sally Beauty Holdings (NYSE: SBH) disappointed with flat preliminary third quarter earnings and announced that largest shareholder Clayton, Dubilier & Rice was selling its 23.1 million shares of the cosmetic products retailer.
United Rentals (NYSE: URI) fell to a loss for the second quarter.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 8 points to 807.
Markets Advance As Housing Starts Climb
July 18, 2012 at 14:22 PM EDT
