Better Than Expected New Home Sales Boosts Markets
Better than expected new home sales lifted investor enthusiasm during the midday to boost the markets higher with the Dow soaring 138 points to 8095. Nasdaq surged 40 points to 1692.
Although first quarter earnings for The Cheesecake Factore (Nasdaq: CAKE) fell, the results beat expectations prompting an upgrade.
PMC-Sierra (Nasdaq: PMCS) narrowed first quarter losses to top analyst estimates.
On the upside
Accel-KKR will acquire SumTotal Systems (Nasdaq: SUMT) in an all cash deal valued at approximately $124 million.Although first quarter earnings for The Cheesecake Factore (Nasdaq: CAKE) fell, the results beat expectations prompting an upgrade.
PMC-Sierra (Nasdaq: PMCS) narrowed first quarter losses to top analyst estimates.
On the downside
The Department of Justice issued a subpoena for Immucor (Nasdaq: BLUD) requesting documents related to an investigation into possible violations of antitrust laws.
UCBH Holdings (Nasdaq: UCBH) swung to a first quarter loss as income fell and loan loss provisions soared.
Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund will sell 20 million shares of Calpine (Nasdaq: CPN) stock.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 11 points to 477.
