Stability In Home Prices Lift Markets

The markets closed barely above the flatline with the Dow adding 7 points to 11,124 as home prices appeared to show a measure of stability. Nasdaq rose 4 points to 2504.

On the upside

First quarter earnings for Tempur-Pedic (NYSE: TPX) more than doubled to beat analyst expectations prompting the mattress maker to lift its full year guidance.

VMware (NYSE: VMW) reported higher first quarter earnings that topped expectations.

First quarter earnings nearly doubled for Tupperware (NYSE: TUP) as revenue climbed.

On the downside

iGate (Nasdaq: IGTE) priced its secondary offering of 4 million common shares at a discounted price of $11.25 per share.

American Airlines parent AMR (NYSE: AMR) blamed higher fuel expenses for widening first quarter losses.

Converted Organics (Nasdaq: COIN) will sell 2.4 million common shares through a registered direct offering.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 4 points to 726.