The nation's economy expanded at a modest 1.5% rate in the second quarter to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow climbing 61 points to 12,949. Nasdaq gained 21 points to 2914.
On the upside
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will pay approximately $356 million in cash to mobile security company AuthenTec (Nasdaq: AUTH).
UBS upgraded Sprint (NYSE: S) to a Buy rating.
Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) fell to a loss for the second quarter but revenue rose to beat analyst expectations and the company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.03 per share payable on September 14, 2012 to shareholders of record August 31, 2012.
On the downside
Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) reported results for its first quarter as a publicly traded company that met analyst expectations but slowing growth sent the stock price tumbling.
Green Dot (Nasdaq: GDOT) disappointed with lower second quarter earnings and cut its full year outlook.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Amarin's (Nasdaq: AMRN) severe hypertriglyceridemia treatment Vascepa but limited conditions for its use.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 4 points to 781.
Higher Open As GDP Grows 1.5%
July 27, 2012 at 10:39 AM EDT
