Modestly Higher Close As Retail Sales Surge
On the upside
February gaming revenue jumped 32.9% on the Las Vegas Strip to lift shares of MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM), Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) and Boyd Gaming (NYSE: BYD).
W&T Offshore (NYSE: WTI) will purchase Total E&P USA's share in three deepwater Gulf of Mexico offshore blocks.
Fitch Ratings affirmed its rating for student lender Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM).
On the downside
Fourth quarter earnings plunged for Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq: APOG) due to challenging economic conditions.
Raser Technologies (NYSE: RZ) may sell common shares to raise up to $25 million.
Canaccord Adams downgraded Emulex (NYSE: ELX).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a fraction to 699.
