Investors embraced Germany's move to expand the European bailout fund by lifting the markets sharply higher during the midday with the Dow soaring 165 points to 11,176. Nasdaq added 2 points to 2494.
On the upside
Umpqua Holdings (Nasdaq: UMPQ) increased its stock repurchase plan to buy back up to 15 million common shares.
Fourth quarter earnings slipped for Thor Industries (NYSE: THO) but the results topped analyst estimates.
Two London hospitals used GE's (NYSE: GE) Jenbacher combined heat and power solutions to significantly reduce energy expenses and greenhouse gas emissions.
On the downside
Citigroup analyst Gary Taylor downgraded DaVita (NYSE: DVA) saying that the dialysis centers operator may have overcharged Medicare.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was analyzing Edward Lifesciences' (Nasdaq: EW) Sapien catheter-delivered heart valve.
New Oriental Education & Technology Group (NYSE: EDU) will announce first quarter results on October 18, 2011.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 10 points to 662.
