Stocks Log Broad Gains

4:41 PM, Feb 16, 2011 --

• NYSE up 53.04 (+0.6%) to 8,436.71
• DJIA up 61.53 (+0.5%) to 12,288
• S&P 500 up 8.31 (+0.6%) to 1,336
• Nasdaq up 21.21 (+0.8%) to 2,826

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

• Hang Seng up 1.12%
• Nikkei up 0.57%
• FTSE up 0.84%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) DELL continues evening gain that followed earnings.

(+) GENZ agrees to $74 per share SNY offer.

(+) FDO continues to gain in wake of Trian Fund interest.

(+) THLD gets FDA approval for Phase 3 trial of TH-302.

(+) LVS upgraded.

(+) ALTI inks extended share subscription deal with Canon.

(+) GPS upgraded.

(+) DSCM backs guidance.

(+) VCLK continues evening gain that followed earnings beat.

(+) CHGS inks follow-on contract.

(+) CELG adds to buyback.

(+) CMCSA beats with earnings.

(+) DE beats with earnings.

(+) RIMM upgraded.

(+) S upgraded.

(+) DF beats with Q4 but guidance disappoints.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) CSTR accelerates share repurchase.

(-) BGP files for bankruptcy protection.

(-) LLNW downgraded.

(-) ARG down as APD withdraws $70 per share offer.

MARKET DIRECTION

U.S. stocks closed higher, getting additional lift from the afternoon release of a Federal Reserve report that included an upwardly revised GDP outlook. Upbeat Dell (DELL) earnings and pharma deal news were supportive early factors Wednesday.

Crude oil closed up 0.8% at $84.99 a barrel. Gold turned higher on reports Iran war ships were headed to training maneuvers in Syria through the Suez Canal, triggering safe-haven buying in the precious metal.

Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting revealed officials are voicing more confidence in the recovery.

The Fed raised its 2011 growth forecast to a range of 3.4% to 3.9% from its previous estimate of 3% to 3.6%. The nation's jobless rate remained a large concern, with Fed officials forecasting unemployment of 8.8% to 9% in the final quarter of the year, almost even with the Fed's earlier estimate of 8.9% to 9.1%.

Before the trading day, the Commerce Department reported new-home construction starts jumped 14.6% in January, while the Labor Department reported a sharper-than-expected rise in wholesale prices in January.

Sanofi Aventis' (SNY) $74 per-share purchase of Genzyme (GENZ) finally became reality, which lifted investor sentiment. Earnings beats from the varied companies of Dell (DELL), Deere (DE) and Comcast (CMCSA) also supported the day's gains.

Dell (DELL) gained after reporting Q4 revenue of $15.7 billion, in line with Street estimates. EPS was $0.48 per share on a GAAP basis and $0.53 per share on a non-GAAP basis, vs. Street estimates of $0.37 per share.

In the latest economic data, the Commerce Department reported the largest increase in new home construction in 20 months, although still well off the pace of a healthy economy.

Housing starts rose 15% to a 596,000-unit annual rate, the Commerce Department reported. That was higher than the 539,000-unit rate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Meanwhile, the January core PPI rose by 0.5%, stronger than expected and the hottest reading since October 2008.

In company news:

Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) confirms it has struck a long-awaited deal to buy Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) for $20.1 billion or $74 a share in cash plus a contingent value right.

Shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) were higher after Bloomberg reported that it will shut its Global Macro Proprietary Trading desk. Goldman, which the report notes relies on fixed-income trading for the largest portion of its revenue, will close its unit to comply with the so-called Volcker rule.

Shares of Borders Group (BGP) were sharply lower after the troubled bookseller filed a petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Operating under Chapter 11, Borders has received commitments for $505 million in Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing led by GE Capital, Restructuring Finance. This financing should enable Borders to meet its obligations going forward, the company said in a statement.

TASER International (TASR) announced that it has received considerable follow-on orders of TASER X26 and ADVANCED TASER M26 electronic control devices (ECDs) and related accessories from two international customers.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) were higher despite reports that it recalled 70,000 syringes containing the antipsychotic drug Invega due to cracks in the syringes. The company says the issue, which was discovered during routine testing, is resolved and syringe production has continued.

Shares of Chevron (CVX) were higher after reports that Atlas Energy (ATL) shareholders approved the oil major's acquisition bid worth $3.58 billion. Almost 100% of owners of Atlas' shares voted in favor of the merger. Earlier this month Chevron said it would pay Atlas an additional 10 cents a share to settle litigation when its $3.59 billion acquisition is completed, Bloomberg reports. The settlement comes in response to Atlas shareholder lawsuits that claim company directors violated fiduciary duties by agreeing to an inadequate merger price.

Deere & Co. (DE) gained on Q1 EPS of $1.20 per share, topping the Street's consensus call for $0.99. Revenue was $6.119 billion, vs. expectations of $5.67 billion.

Comcast rose after the company reported 2010 Q4 revenue of $9.7 billion, ahead of the analyst view of $9.57 billion on Thomson Reuters. EPS was $0.36 and $0.35 per share, ex-items. Analysts were expecting $0.32 per share.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) rose after reporting net income of $92.6 million, or $1.03 per share compared with $47.5 million, or 53 cents per share, last year. Ex items, earnings were $1.38 per share compared with 91 cents, topping analysts' consensus call for $1.31 per share.