The markets recovered earlier losses close higher with the Dow climbing 48 points to 14,613 as investors await the beginning of first quarter earnings season. Nasdaq gained 18 points to 3222.
On the upside
Bloomberg reported that Advanced Micro Devices' (NYSE: AMD) processor will power the next Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox console.
Macquarie upgraded MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG) to a Neutral rating from Underperform.
Shares of NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD) continued rising after announcing the $400 million sale of its stake in Nextel Peru last Thursday.
On the downside
Saba Software (Nasdaq: SABA) stock continued falling after announcing Thursday after market close that it would not regain Nasdaq listing compliance.
Exide Technologies (Nasdaq: XIDE) extended its losses from last week when it announced that Lazard would advise the company on strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.
Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Penn Virginia (NYSE: PVA) from a Buy rating to a Hold 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 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index gained 9 points to 1563.
