Manufacturing activity expanded more than expected in August to boost the markets during the midday with the Dow surging 238 points to 10,253. Nasdaq jumped 58 points to 2172.
On the upside
Human resources technology company Kenexa (Nasdaq: KNXA) offered $80 million in cash to acquire Salary.com (Nasdaq: SLRY).
Needham analyst Scott Zeller upgraded Blue Coat Systems (NYSE: BCSI) to a Buy rating citing the appointment of Mike Borman to the position of chief executive.
G-III Apparel Group (Nasdaq: GIII) reveresed year ago losses to post an unexpected profit for the second quarter and the company lifted its full year guidance.
Fiber optic network operator 360networks augmented its network with Sonus Networks' (Nasdaq: SONS) Sonus NBS-9000 Network Border Switch to increase capacity and functionality.
On the downside
Shares of beauty products retailer Ulta Salon (Nasdaq: ULTA) dropped ahead of its earnings release tomorrow.
LTX-Credence (Nasdaq: LTXC) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the fourth quarter but the company forecast current quarter earnings on the low end of expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 6 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 17 points to 619.
