An increase in May consumer spending sent the markets soaring to a sharply higher open with the Dow leaping 156 points to 15,066. Nasdaq jumped 35 points to 3411.
On the upside
United Microelectronic (NYSE: UMC) and Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS) announced they achieved the first milestone in their development collaboration.
ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the fourth quarter and said that it expects savings from its acquisition of Ralcorp to be higher than earlier estimated.
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) continued rising after announcing a partnership with Samsung Renewable Energy yesterday.
On the downside
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PPHM) reported that there was no significant difference in survival rates in a Phase II clinical trial of its bavituximab in patients with Stage IIIb and Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer .
Select Income REIT (NYSE: SIR) priced its public offering of 10.5 million common shares at the discounted price of $28.25 per share.
Paychex (Nasdaq: PAYX) disappointed with flat fourth quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 1 on the NYSE by nearly 7 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index soared 16 points to 1619.
