Markets Higher Over Hope For More Stimulus Measures

Optimism that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may suggest further stimulus measures to jump start the stalled economy boosted the markets during the midday with the Dow surging 125 points to 12,572. Nasdaq climbed 33  points to 2815.

On the upside

Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) will unveil a virtual currency to be used on its microblogging site Weibo in the third quarter.

Rising gold prices lifted shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL), Eldorado Gold (NYSE: EGO) and Jaguar Mining (NYSE: JAG).

Gulf Resources (Nasdaq: GURE) affirmed that chairman Ming Yang will maintain ownership of the company for the next three years.

On the downside

Adtran (Nasdaq: ADTN) reported higher second quarter earnings but the company forecast third quarter results below analyst expectations.

Investment Technology Group (NYSE: ITG) warned of losses for the second quarter and will lower expenses by eliminating workers.

Increasingly higher funding costs weighed down shares of The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 10 points to 840.