A milder than expected drop in the third quarter GDP boosted the markets to a higher close with the Dow leaping 190 points to 9181. Nasdaq jumped 41 points to 1699.
On the upside
Conceptus (Nasdaq: CPTS) reported its first ever profitable quarter.Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) announced plans to acquire RuleBurst Holdings in the first quarter of 2009 for an undisclosed sum.
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) will jointly establish a Linux software center with the Taiwanese government to provide training and consulting in mobile technologies.
On the downside
JP Morgan downgraded Liberty Media (Nasdaq: LINTA) after the company reported lower third quarter revenue.Bruker (Nasdaq: BRKR) blamed higher operating expenses for sharply lower third quarter earnings.
Cigna (NYSE: CI) disappointed with third quarter earnings that plunged to fall far short of expectations prompting a downgrade due to soaring expenses.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks leaped 23 points to 514.
