Markets Extend Gains At Midday

Investors welcomed action by Germany's high court to hasten loans to struggling economies. The markets extended its gains during the midday with the Dow rocketing 238 points to 11,378.  Nasdaq leaped 67 points to 2541.

On the upside

Third quarter same store sales for Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) slipped but gross margin improved.

MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG) reported a sequential drop in delinquent loans and wrote $1.3 billion in new mortgage insurance in August.

An article in The Times of London said that Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) may be the target of an acquisition by Anglo American.

Talbots (Nasdaq: TLB) reported a wider than expected loss for the second quarter but revenue topped analyst estimates and the company announced the departure of chief executive Michael Smaldone.

On the downside

Wunderlich downgraded VASCO Data Security International (Nasdaq: VDSI) to a Hold rating.

Francesca's Holdings (Nasdaq: FRAN) reported lower second quarter earnings even as revenue climbed.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 6 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 6 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks jumped 24 points to 705.