A gain in December manufacturing activity boosted the markets during the midday with the Dow soaring 183 points to 12,401. Nasdaq climbed 38 points to 2643.
On the upside
Barclays Capital upgraded Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) to an Overweight rating.
A cut in the inflation forecast for Brazil prompted speculation that lower borrowing costs will entice more consumers to purchase new homes. Shares of homebuilder Gafisa (NYSE: GFA) rose.
Shares of e-Commerce China Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) rose in anticipation of the release of its e-reader this year.
On the downside
Canaccord Genuity lowered its price target on Universal Display (Nasdaq: PANL) and cut its license revenue assumption from client Samsung.
Janney Capital Markets analyst David Strasser downgraded Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) to a Sell rating.
Analysts lowered their price target on FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 9 points to 750.
