The markets closed modestly higher with the Dow rising 25 points to 13,275 on upbeat corporate earnings news. Nasdaq gained 14 points to 3076.
On the upside
Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek raised his price target on Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) from $800 to $900.
TheStreet Ratings affirmed its Buy rating on Seagate Technology (Nasdaq: STX).
Bloomberg reported that General Motors (NYSE: GM) will reorganize all global operations.
On the downside
Investors locked in profits on Pluristem Therapeutics (Nasdaq: PSTI) whose stock price climbed this week after announcing a contract with Cato Research to conduct Phase II clinical trials for its intermittent claudication treatment. Retreating gold prices weighed down shares of Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE: HMY).
Citi Investment Research analyst Deborah Weinswig said that Supervalu (NYSE: SVU) must sell assets in order to raise capital.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 6 points to 819.
Upbeat Earnings Lift Market To Higher Close
August 17, 2012 at 18:27 PM EDT
