A better than expected gain in construction spending lifted the markets sharply higher on the first trading day of 2011 with the Dow climbing 93 points to 11,670. Nasdaq surged 38 points to 2691.
On the upside
Seeking Alpha contributor Michael Murphy recommended Zalicus (Nasdaq: ZLCS) as a low risk stock for 2011.
Seeking Alpha contributor Charlie Anderson wrote that a rebound in natural gas prices will lift GMX Resources (NYSE: GMXR).
Morgan Deegan analyst Robert M. Derrington upgraded Ruby Tuesday (NYSE: RT) to an Outperform rating and lifted his price target on the casual dining chain to $15.
On the downside
Janney Montgomery Scott senior research analyst John Roy, Ph.D. said in the Wall Street Transcript that FuelCell Energy (Nasdaq: FCEL) is well positioned to expand into South Korea through its partnership with Korean steel company POSCO Power (NYSE: PKX).
Piper Jaffray analyst Gus Richard downgraded Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and lowered his price target on the chip maker to $21.50 saying that the company will fail to expand into the ultramobile smartphone and tablet market.
J. P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff said that Las Vegas Sands' (NYSE: LVS) 16.4% of the market share in Macau was below expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues edged out decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 14 points to 798.
