The markets advanced during the midday with the Dow climbing 84 points to 16,533 as the Federal Reserve convened its policy meeting. Nasdaq gained 27 points to 4,101.
On the upside
MLV & Co. upgraded Xoma (Nasdaq: XOMA) from a Hold rating to a Buy rating.
Winthrop Realty Trust (NYSE: FUR) adopted a liquidation plan.
Orbital Sciences (NYSE: ORB) will merge with Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) in a deal valued at approximately $5 billion.
On the downside
Oi SA (Nasdaq: OIBR) priced its secondary offering of 2,142 million common shares.
Ultra Clean Holdings (Nasdaq: UCTT) swung to a profit for the first quarter but the results fell short of analyst expectations and the company forecast current quarter earnings below expectations.
First quarter earnings slipped for 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) even as revenue climbed.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 8 points to 1877. Bitcoin added $3.64 or 0.82% to $444.60.
