An increase in pending home sales lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 56 points to 13,957. Nasdaq rose 10 points to 3140.
On the upside
Coach (NYSE: COH) hired former Nike global creative director Zach Augustine to revamp its stores.
Dollar Tree (Nasdaq: DLTR) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates.
The Food and Drug Administration may delay its decision on Zogenix’s (Nasdaq: ZGNX) pure hydrocone pain treatment Zohydro but the pharmaceutical remained confident of approval.
On the downside
First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) swung to a profit for the fourth quarter but revenue fell short of expectations and the company forecast current quarter earnings and revenue below estimates.
Accretive Health (NYSE: AH) delayed the release of its fourth quarter and full year financial results.
Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB) reported a greater than expected loss for the fourth quarter and forecast 2013 revenue below expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index climbed 6 points to 1503.
