Fed Comments Lift Markets To Higher Close

The markets surged to close higher with the Dow soaring 120 points to 9361 after the Federal Reserve said that instead of shrinking, the economy is now leveling out. Nasdaq climbed 28 points to 1998.

On the upside

Citi Investment Research analyst Jim Suva upgraded Brightpoint (Nasdaq: CELL) and increased his price target for the company saying that cell phone sales should improve.

WuXi PharmaTech (NYSE: WX) reported sharply higher second quarter earnings as margins improved and expenses fell.

The Food and Drug Administration approved CryoLife's (NYSE: CRY) human heart patch. 

On the downside

Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Ross downgraded YRC Worldwide (Nasdaq: YRCW) saying that despite recent union concessions, the transportation services company is still likely to file for bankruptcy.

Vanguard Natural Resources (NYSE: VNR) priced its offering of 3.5 million common shares at $14.25 per share.

Gushan Environmental Energy (NYSE: GU) swung to a second quarter loss as revenue tumbled.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 10 points to 572.