The markets extended its gains during the midday with the Dow gaining 89 points to 11,345 on strong November retail sales. Nasdaq climbed 22 points to 2571.
On the upside
Finisar (Nasdaq: FNSR) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the second quarter and forecast third quarter results ahead of estimates prompting an upgrade.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) swung to a better than expected profit for the third quarter as revenue rose.
A surge in pending home sales lifted shares of Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE: HOV) and Lennar (NYSE: LEN).
On the downside
UTi Worldwide (Nasdaq: UTIW) reported higher third quarter earnings that topped estimates but revenue fell short of expectations.
Investors locked in profits on Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), which soared yesterday on news of a 42% jump in November gaming revenue in Macau.
Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes expects orders to slowdown for Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 5 points to 748.
