A lowering of interest rates by central banks lifted the markets sharply higher during the midday with the Dow jumping 391 points to 11,947. Nasdaq surged 79 points to 2595.
On the upside
Skyworks Solutions (Nasdaq: SWKS) amended its agreement to acquire Advanced Analogic Technologies (Nasdaq: AATI) for a lower price.
Shares of coal producers James River Coal (Nasdaq: JRCC) rose after Morningstar wrote that coal demand is increasing in China and India.
Motley Fool wrote that Forrest Oil (NYSE: FST) had a good intangible assets ratio and tangible book value.
On the downside
Standard & Poor's downgraded StoneMor Partners' (Nasdaq: STON) senior unsecured rating and placed its corporate credit rating on CreditWatch with negative implications.
Cowen analyst Jim Friedland said that pricing pressures may negatively impact earnings for Shutterfly (Nasdaq: SFLY).
Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) introduced its generic version of Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) cholesterol medication Lipitor but the stock price dropped.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 8 to 1 on the NYSE and by a margin of more than 7 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 30 points to 726.
