Strong growth in manufacturing activity lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow gaining 65 points to 13,279. Nasdaq rose 4 points to 3050.
On the upside
Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) reported lower third quarter earnings but the results beat analyst expectations.
First quarter earnings dropped for Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq: VECO) but the results surpassed analyst expectations by a wide margin.
NuVasive (Nasdaq: NUVA) reported lower first quarter earnings but the results beat expectations.
On the downside
Forest Oil (NYSE: FST) widened first quarter losses more than expected.
Radian Group (NYSE: RDN) fell to a larger than expected loss for the first quarter.
Tang Capital Partners filed suit against Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SVNT) alleging that the biopharmaceutical was insolvent.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and while decliners edged out advancers by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 815.
