The markets advanced during the midday with the Dow gaining 62 points to 13,153 as pending home sales climbed more than expected in March. Nasdaq added 6 points to 3035.
On the upside
Shares of Amarin (Nasdaq: AMRN) rose after competing omega-3 drug developer Omthera Pharmaceuticals reported late stage clinical trial results indicating that its Epanova was inferior to Amarin's AMR101.
First quarter earnings slipped for Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW) but the results beat analyst expectations.
Suburban Propane Partners (NYSE: SPH) will pay approximately $1.8 billion to acquire the propane operations of Inergy (NYSE: NRGY).
On the downside
NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD) disappointed with first quarter earnings that plummeted.
Leap Wireless (Nasdaq: LEAP) widened first quarter losses as interest expenses climbed.
H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) will close approximately 200 offices nationwide and eliminate 350 jobs.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 3 points to 815.