The markets opened higher with the Dow climbing 78 points to 14,751 as imports surged in China. Nasdaq soared 34 points to 3272.
On the upside
Shares of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) continued rising after announcing record data transmission of 400 Gbps over a live network yesterday.
Shares of Taylor Morrison (NYSE: TMHC) surged on its first trading day.
A Seeking Alpha contributor highlighted the blockbuster potential of MannKind's (Nasdaq: MNKD) Afrezza if the Food and Drug Administration approves the inhalable insulin product next year.
On the downside
Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA) reported preliminary first quarter earnings and revenue that fell far short of analyst expectations prompting the hospital operator to cut its full year guidance.
Titan Machinary (Nasdaq: TITN) disappointed with lower fourth quarter earnings that missed expectations and forecast 2014 results below estimates.
Resource Capital (NYSE: RSO) priced its public offering of 16.25 million common shares at the discounted price of $6.33 per share.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index climbed 10 points to 1578.