Upbeat earnings lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 30 points to 14,001. Nasdaq added 3 points to 3195.
On the upside
Third quarter earnings surged fourfold for Michael Kors (NYSE: KORS) to surpass analyst expectations by a wide margin as revenue soared prompting the fashion company to lift its full year earnings guidance.
StemCells (Nasdaq: STEM) reported positive results from a Phase I/II clinical trial of its purified human neural stem cells product to treat chronic spinal cord injury.
Avon (NYSE: AVP) widened fourth quarter losses but the beauty products company sold more items.
On the downside
Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) narrowed fourth quarter losses less than expected.
Huntsman (NYSE: HUN) fell to a loss for the fourth quarter due to restructuring costs.
Profit taking sank shares of Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index added 2 points to 1519.
