The markets surged to close sharply higher with the Dow jumping 413 points to 9265 after Fed chief Bernanke recommended another stimulus package to lift the country out of an extended economic slump. Nasdaq leaped 59 points to 1770.
On the upside
Pritchard Capital Partners analyst Mark Brown expects National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) to report better than expected results for the third quarter.Landry's Restaurants (NYSE: LNY) chief executive Tilman Fertitta agreed to acquire the company for a 49% premium over its closing price on Friday.
Morgan Keegan analyst Simon Leopold upgraded Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) saying that the computer networking equipment maker has significant cash to invest during the economic slowdown.
On the downside
Moody's Investor Services downgraded Brunswick's (NYSE: BC) debt ratings to junk status.Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) blamed higher food expenses as well as investment losses for lowering its full year outlook.
Real estate investment trust Developers Diversified Realty (NYSE: DDR) disclosed that it has approximately $1.7 billion of debt that will mature in the next two years.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks leaped 20 points to 547.
