Upbeat earnings and better than expected retail sales lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow soaring 95 points to 13,424. Nasdaq climbed 20 points to 3064.
On the upside
Shares of Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) and James River Coal (Nasdaq: JRCC) continued climbing over recent gains in natural gas prices.
Workday (NYSE: WDAY) stock continued advancing after making its debut on Friday.
Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CYCC) reported update data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of its myelodysplastic syndromes treatment sapacitabine.
On the downside
MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS) stock fell after Softbank offered $20.1 billion to acquire a 70% stake in MetroPCS rival Sprint (NYSE: S).
Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE: TRQ) rejected a request by the Mongolian government to renegotiate the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement.
Lazard Capital Markets analyst Michael Lewis downgraded Harris (NYSE: HRS) to a Sell rating.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 5 points to 828.
Upbeat Economic Data Lifts Markets To Higher Close
October 15, 2012 at 18:07 PM EDT
