Optimism for a strong earnings season lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow climbing 75 points to 15,300. Nasdaq gained 19 points to 3504.
On the upside
Rumors circulated that several companies may be interested in acquiring Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA).
Piper Jaffray upgraded Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) from a Neutral rating to an Overweight rating.
The Dolan Co. (NYSE: DM) will sell two of its legal service businesses.
On the downside
Accounting firms refused to provide documents to the SEC for their fraud investigation of Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ).
The growth of Pandora's (NYSE: P) listener hours slowed in June.
Goldman Sachs downgraded Synchronoss Technologies (Nasdaq: SNCR) from a Neutral rating to a Sell rating.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index climbed 11 points to 1652.
