Upbeat Retail Sales Lift Markets To Higher Close
The markets advanced to close modestly higher with the Dow rising 20 points to 12,062 as investors focused on upbeat January retail sales. Nasdaq added 4 points 2753.
On the upside
Fourth quarter earnings slipped for Brightpoint (Nasdaq: CELL) but the results beat analyst expectations and the company forecast 2011 results ahead of estimates.
McMoRan (NYSE: MMR) announced the discovery of hydrocarbon bearing sand at its Davy Jones offset appraisel well in the Gulf of Mexico.
AutoNation (NYSE: AN) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that surpassed expectations.
On the downside
Muddy Water Research initiated coverage of China MediaExpress (Nasdaq: CCME) with a Strong Sell rating saying that the company inflated its revenue and profits.
While International Coal (NYSE: ICO) swung to a profit for the fourth quarter, the results missed estimates.Jaguar Mining (NYSE: JAG) will offer $90 million in convertible senior notes.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 10 to 9 on the NYSE while advancers were on par with decliners on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 798.
