Despite a greater than expected drop in consumer confidence last month, the markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow gaining 57 points to 12,255. Nasdaq climbed 19 points to 2750.
On the upside
Brean Murray initiated coverage of Gulf Resources (Nasdaq: GFRE) with a Buy rating.
The U. S. Patent and Trademark office granted a composition-of-matter patnet to Zalicus (Nasdaq: ZLCS) for its rheumatoid arthritis treatment Synavive.
Philips-Van Heusen (NYSE: PVH) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations as revenue surged and the company forecast current quarter results ahead of estimates.
On the downside
FelCor Lodging Trust (NYSE: FCH) priced its public offering of 24 million common shares at $6.00 per share.
Anadigics (Nasdaq: ANAD) president and chief executive Mario Rivas and senior vice president Greg White both resigned.
Apollo Group (NYSE: APOL) blamed significant charges for swinging to a loss for the second quarter.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 5 points to 826.
