Better than expected November auto sales boosted the markets during the midday with the Dow soaring 91 points to 17,868. Nasdaq climbed 23 points to 4,751.
On the upside
MOL Global’s (Nasdaq: MOLG) largest shareholder Vincent Tan issued a statement in support of the company.
President Obama’s $75 million proposal to fund body-mounted video cameras for police officers lifted shares of Digital Ally (Nasdaq: DGLY) and Taser International (Nasdaq: TASR).
Idera Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IDRA) appointed Vincent J. Milano to the position of chief executive officer.
On the downside
NTELOS (Nasdaq: NTLS) will exit its Eastern Markets in order to focus its resources on its Western Markets.
BB&T Capital Markets expects Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) to file for bankruptcy in 2015.
Shares of Key Energy Services (NYSE: KEG) fell after Bank of America downgraded the energy sector.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 11 points to 2065. Bitcoin added $1 to $380.