On the upside
Retreating oil prices and better than expected earnings from American Airlines (NYSE: AMR) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) lifted shares of United Air Lines (Nasdaq: UAUA), Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA).
News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) retained the services of Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) to explore strategic options for three European television stations.
Upbeat earnings from Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) lifted shares of Washington Mutual (NYSE: WM).
On the downside
Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey downgraded St. Mary Land & Exploration (NYSE: SM).
EXCO Resources (NYSE: XCO) hired Goldman Sachs to assist the oil and natural gas company research and explore possible joint venture initiatives.
Leerink Swann analyst Bret Jones downgraded eResearch Technology (Nasdaq: ERES) over valuation concerns.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks jumped 24 points to 687.