Bank of America recovered as analyst comments restored confidence in the financial sector. The markets opened higher with the Dow gaining 64
points to 11,241. Nasdaq added 2
points to
2448.
On the upside
Bargain hunters lifted shares of MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG), whose stock price fell earlier this week when rival PMI (NYSE: PMI) was ordered by the Arizona Department of Insurance to stop writing new policies.Avago (Nasdaq: AVGO) reported higher third quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates as revenue rose.
Bank analyst Meredith Whitney said on "Bloomberg Surveillance" that Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) did not need to raise capital immediately.
On the downside
United Therapeutics' (Nasdaq: UTHR) oral formulation of its pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment treprostinil failed a late stage clinical trial.
Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) narrowed second quarter losses but the teen retailer forecast third quarter results below estimates.
Second quarter earnings for American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) doubled but the results fell short of expectations and the teen retailer warned of lower margins in the second half of the year.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 10 points to 693.
