A gain in consumer sentiment lifted the markets higher during the midday with the Dow surging 266 points to 12,160. Nasdaq leaped 54 points to 2679.
On the upside
Cemex (NYSE: CX) announced yesterday that it will sell assets to raise capital to meet financial covenants.
Analysts expect Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) to report narrower fourth quarter losses next week.
ServiceSource (Nasdaq: SREV) widened third quarter losses but revenue rose to beat expectations and the company lifted its full year revenue guidance.
On the downside
Signal Watch issued a research report saying that Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) will face challenges due to global economic weakness.
Third quarter earnings climbed for Dillard's (NYSE: DDS) but gross margin held steady.
DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) swung to a profit for the fourth quarter but the results fell short of expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 17 points to 743.