The nation's supply of crude oil and gasoline rose last week to lift the markets higher during the midday with the Dow rising 32 points 12,388. Nasdaq gained 14 points to 2761.
On the upside
Zale (NYSE: ZLC) narrowed third quarter losses more than expected as revenue rose.
Pacific Sunwear (Nasdaq: PSUN) posted a loss for the first quarter but the results were better than expected.
Shares of El Paso (NYSE: EP) continued rising after announcing yesterday that the natural gas company will spin-off its exploration and production business.
On the downside
Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL) disappointed with lower fourth quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations.
First quarter earnings for American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) more than doubled as the teen apparel retailer cut expenses but revenue fell to miss analyst expectations.
Investors locked in profits on Yandex (Nasdaq: YNDX), whose stock price surged yesterday in its market debut.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 9 points to 819.
