Falling unemployment claims lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow gaining 55 points to 15,328. Nasdaq climbed 26 points to 3787.
On the upside
A Seeking Alpha contributor wrote that E-Commerce China Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) had great potential.
Bargain hunters snapped up shares of Magnum Hunter (NYSE: MHR).
Shares of Opexa Therapeutics (Nasdaq: OPXA) continued rising after the biopharmaceutical converted its convertible secured promissory notes into common stock.
On the downside
Shares of Avis Budget (Nasdaq: CAR) tumbled after rival Hertz (NYSE: HTZ) cut its forecast.
Despite Corporate Resource Services' (Nasdaq: CRRS) plans to expand its Cloud Based Offerings, the stock price fell in response to a Seeking Alpha article that said the stock was overvalued and a good short candidate.
Winthrop Realty Trust (NYSE: FUR) priced its public offering of 2.75 million common shares at the discounted price of $11.45 per share.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1696.
