The markets rallied in the afternoon with the Dow jumping 259 points to 8635 over optimism that the federal government will implement more programs to jumpstart the economy. Nasdaq leaped 64 points to 1509.
On the upside
Shares of mortgage insurer Genworth (NYSE: GNW) surged over a possible plan by the Treasury Department to lower interest rates to 4.5%.Buckingham Research Group analyst Barbara Wyckoff upgraded Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) after the apparel retailer outlined its strategy to reduce expenses and manage inventory.
Shares of ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) surged despite a ratings downgrade from Moody's Investors Services. Moody's expects the real estate investment trust's earnings to remain under pressure.
On the downside
Flow International (Nasdaq: FLOW) disappointed with lower second quarter earnings that fell short of estimates.
Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE: PKG) blamed sluggish demand for warning that fourth quarter results will fall short of expectations.
Morgan Keegan analyst Chris Pikul downgraded Berry Petroleum (NYSE: BRY) citing falling crude oil prices as well as the company's high debt levels.In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks surged 21 points to 461.
