Expansion of the nation's economy during the second quarter boosted investor sentiment to lift the markets to a sharply higher close with the Dow leaping 187 points to 13,075. Nasdaq jumped 64 points to 2958.
On the upside
Shares of Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) surged after Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) reported better than expected earnings.
Qlik Technologies (Nasdaq: QLIK) narrowed second quarter losses more than expected as revenue climbed and forecast full year revenue ahead of estimates.
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) whose stock price had been falling since Business Insider published an article on Tuesday about Groupon bankrupting a waffle house.
On the downside
QLogic (Nasdaq: QLGC) reported sharply lower first quarter earnings that missed expectations as revenue fell.
Sequenom (Nasdaq: SQNM) widened second quarter losses more than expected.
Standard Pacific (NYSE: SPF) reported higher second quarter earnings and revenue but revenue fell short of expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 2 Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks surged 18 points to 796.
Nation's Economy Expands, Markets Close Sharply Higher
July 27, 2012 at 18:12 PM EDT
