Stocks Edge Higher as Banks Repay TARP Funds

Investors gravitated towards financial institutions that announced plans to pay back federal bailout money.   The Dow rose 5 points to 8770 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 12 points to 1855.

On the upside

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) raised its profit targets for the quarter as demand for its chip products stabilized.

An analyst upgraded Greif (NYSE: GEF), an industrial packaging products maker.

Shares of MDRNA (Nasdaq: MRNA) soared after the FDA approved its generic osteoporosis nasal spray.

On the downside

F.N.B. Corp. (NYSE: FNB) announced plans to sell $115 million in new stock to strengthen the bank's balance sheet.

An analyst downgraded chipmaker Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL).

Ceramics manufacturer Ceradyne (Nasdaq: CRDN) set lower guidance for 2009 due to reduced global demand for its products.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 3 points to 528.

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