Home Construction Climbs, Markets Open Mixed

The markets opened mixed with the Dow rising 20 points to 12,222 while Nasdaq eased a point to 2733. Home construction climbed 7.2% in March.

On the upside

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported lower first quarter earnings but the results beat analyst expectations and the company lifted its 2011 outlook.

First quarter earnings fell for Novartis (NYSE: NVS) but the results were better than expected.

Zions Bancorp (Nasdaq: ZION) reversed year ago losses to post an unexpected profit for the first quarter.

On the downside

Although first quarter earnings more than tripled for Harley-Davison (NYSE: HOG), the results fell short of analyst estimates.

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) reported higher first quarter earnings but revenue missed analyst expectations.

New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYB) disappointed with lower first quarter earnings that fell short of estimates.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 823.