Upbeat earnings news along with a drop in initial applications for unemployment benefits lifted the markets higher during the midday with the Dow climbing 70 points to 12,156. Nasdaq gained 29 points to 2727.
On the upside
The Food and Drug Administration approved TranS1's (Nasdaq: TSON) AxiaLIF 1L+ instrumentation and implant system for L5-S1 lumbar fusion.
Talbots (NYSE: TLB) reported a loss for the fourth quarter that was smaller than expected.
Shares of U. S. miner Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) climbed after China announced a $9 per ton tax on Chinese rare earth producers.
On the downside
Fourth quarter earnings fell for Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) as weak consumer electronics sales weighed down revenue. The retailer forecast 2012 income below expectations.
MediciNova (Nasdaq: MNOV) priced its public offering of 2.75 million units at $3.00 per unit.
Scholastic (Nasdaq: SCHL) disappointed with a wider than expected loss for the third quarter and cut its 2011 guidance for the second time.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 4 points to 816.
