Facebook filed today to raise $5 billion through an initial public offering. The markets closed higher with the Dow gaining 83 points to 12,716. Nasdaq soared 34 points to 2848.
On the upside
Aspen Technology (Nasdaq: AZPN) swung to a second quarter profit that surpassed analyst expectations by a wide margin.
Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) posted a loss for the fourth quarter and announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives to increase shareholder value.
Fourth quarter earnings for AOL (NYSE: AOL) tumbled but the results beat expectations.
On the downside
PetroQuest Energy (NYSE: PQ) provided a production update and announced a capital budget of $90 million to $100 million for 2012.
Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW) reported higher fourth quarter funds from operations but the results missed estimates and the real estate investment trust announced a public offering of common stock.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks leaped 16 points to 809.
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