Drop In Jobless Claims Lifts Markets To Higher Open
On the upside
Xyratex (Nasdaq: XRTX) reversed year ago losses to post a greater than expected profit for the first quarter and forecast second quarter results that topped analyst estimates.
Private equity firm SSI Investments increased its offer for SkillSoft (Nasdaq: SKIL) to $1.2 billion in cash from $1.1 billion.
Borders Group (NYSE: BGP) impressed with fourth quarter earnings that doubled even as sales dropped. The book seller also repaid a $42.5 million loan.
On the downside
Fourth quarter earnings rose for Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) but revenue fell short of expectations.
Natural Resource Partners (NYSE: NRP) priced its offering of 4 million common units at $25.17 per unit.
DemandTec (Nasdaq: DMAN) widened fourth quarter losses.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 7 points to 685.
