May consumer sentiment climbed to a six year high to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 57 points to 15,290. Nasdaq rose 18 points to 3484.
On the upside
James River Coal (Nasdaq: JRCC) will exchange approximately $243.4 million senior convertible notes with $123.3 million new senior convertible notes.
Bargain hunters snapped up shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD).
Shares of SolarCity (NYSE: SCTY) continued rising after announcing yesterday an agreement with Goldman Sachs to provide more than $500 million in lease financing for solar power projects.
On the downside
Aruba Networks (Nasdaq: ARUN) fell to a loss for the third quarter as expenses climbed prompting downgrades.
J. C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) widened first quarter losses more than expected as revenue dropped.
Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK) disappointed with lower first quarter earnings that fell short of expectations, forecast current quarter results below estimates and cut its full year revenue guidance.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index gained 9 points to 1660.