More jobs than expected were created last month but the nation’s trade imbalance widened in January. The markets closed modestly higher with the Dow adding 14 points to 12,922 while Nasdaq gained 17 points to 2988.
On the upside
Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM) raised $40 million through a private placement.
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Pandora Media (NYSE: P), whose shares plunged Wednesday after the Internet radio company reported a wider fourth quarter loss and forecast first quarter results below analyst expectations.
Five Star Equities issued a research report on USEC (NYSE: USU) citing India’s commitment to nuclear energy for issuing a strong growth outlook for the nuclear sector.
On the downside
Court appointed bankruptcy examiner Susheel Kirpalani said that Dynegy (NYSE: DYN) subsidiary Dynegy Holdings fraudulently transferred its coal division to shield its assets before filing for bankruptcy.
Dex One (NYSE: DEXO) amended its credit agreements to allow the company to repurchase bank loans at a discounted price.
Alon USA Energy (NYSE: ALJ) reported a loss for the fourth quarter.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 10 points to 817.
