California Coastal Communities (CALC: chart) was upgraded to market outperform from market perform at JMP Securities. Shares of the company rose 8.1%.

CSP Inc. (CSPI: chart), which develops messaging and image-processing software, shares rose 16.9% after the company said that its fiscal first-quarter revenue surged 40% and it reported a profit of $978,000, or 25 cents a share. Last year''s losses came to 15 cents a share.

Culp Inc. (CFI: chart) said its third quarter net loss widened slightly to $2.2 million from $2.17 million. The company''s loss per share for the quarter was unchanged at 19 cents a share. Quarterly net sales fell to $55.7 million from $61 million in the same period a year earlier.

Fred''s Inc. (FRED: chart), which operates discount general merchandise stores, said February sales at stores open for at least a year rose 3.9%, helped by its performance in general merchandise departments. The company said total sales for the four-week period ended March 3 rose 8% to $143.9 million, from $133.4 million in the four-week period ended Feb. 25, 2006. Fred''s planned to open about 40 new stores, 15 to 25 new pharmacies and close certain stores in 2007. Shares climbed 7.7%.

K2 Inc. (KTO: chart), sporting goods maker, said it swung to a profit of 20 cents per share compared with a loss of $5.01 per share in the prior-year period. Adjusted income for the quarter totaled 25 cents per share. A 9% sales rise fueled the profit swing. The company credited new products such as alpine skis and high performance baseball gloves for the increase. Shares climbed 5.1%.

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (LJPC: chart) shares soared 29.4% after it reported positive interim results from a late-phase study of a drug proposed to treat lupus, a chronic condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body''s own tissues.

Mama.com (MAMA: chart) jumped 27.1% after the Canadian search engine swung to a fourth-quarter profit of $420,000, or 3 cents per share, compared with a loss of 6 cents per share a year ago. Revenue more than doubled to $3.6 million.

New York & Co. (NWY: chart), women''s clothing-store chain, said February sales gained 8.9% to $87.7 million. Same-store sales were up 2.7%, as compared with last year''s 12.8% decline. Shares jumped 14.7%.

Omni Energy Services Corp. (OMNI: chart), which provides seismic data to the petroleum industry, forecast 2007 net income to rise as much as 70%, as the company benefits from recent acquisitions. Shares climbed 12.5%.

Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (DESC: chart), alternative-energy related company, said that its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $33.2 million, or 84 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $3.4 million, or 9 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The 2006 fourth-quarter included $25.6 million, or 65 cents per share, in non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges. Revenue climbed to $13.8 million versus $11 million in the same period a year earlier. Shares fell 27.2%.

1:00PM NY European markets closed higher helped by commodities and earnings.
European stocks posed solid gains on Thursday, boosted by strength in the commodity sector and a batch of well received earnings reports. The gains came after the European Central Bank raised its key rate to 3.75%, in line with expectations, and the Bank of England held rates unchanged at 5.25%. Metals firms including Boliden and Xstrata made the best sector performance as copper and gold futures advanced. Among earnings-related gainers, French utilities Suez and Veolia Environnement jumped over 2% after reporting strong profit in 2006. Shares in BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank both gained 2.4% following an upgrade at J.P. Morgan, which lifted its rating on the European investment banking sector as a whole to neutral from underweight. German pharmaceutical and chemicals giant Bayer and Anglo Irish Bank were also in the spotlight. Bayer benefited from an upgrade to buy from neutral at UBS, while Aegon climbed on higher profit. The German DAX Xetra 30 climbed 1.4% at 6,713.23, the French CAC 40 rose 1.3% to 5,524.26, and the U.K. FTSE 100 closed up 1.2% to 6,227.70.

Crude oil prices reversed from steep advance in the previous session, due to profit-taking. Light, sweet crude April delivery fell 52 cents $61.30. Heating oil slipped to $1.7642. Natural gas fell 15 cents to $7.220 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent dropped 64 cents to $61.86. The U.S. dollar gained ground against its major currency rivals. The euro was quoted at $1.3118, down from $1.3182. The dollar bought 117.42 yen, up from 116.36. The British pound was quoted at $1.9281, down from $1.9339. European gold prices rose. In London gold traded at $651.20 per troy ounce, up from $647.50. In Zurich, the precious metal traded at $650.40, down from $648.60. Silver rose to $12.97, up from $12.94.


11:30AM Stock averages traded firmly in the positive, helped by global gains.
Wall Street rallied on Thursday, cheered by signals that weakness across global stock exchanges had been overcome. The Dow Jones industrials rose more than 100 points, boosted by General Motors (GM: chart), up 1.9% and Citigroup (C: chart), rising 1.2%. Retail stocks were in focus, with Nordstrom (JWN: chart) leading the sector higher after reporting strong same-store sales growth in February. The stock rose 5.2%. Kohl''s Corp. (KSS: chart) gained 2.7% after its sales handily beat the 2.9% gain estimate with an increase of 4.4%. Federated Department Stores (FD: chart) rose 2.3% although its sales rose less than expected. Fast food giant McDonald''s (MCD: chart) gained 1.6% after it reported a 5.7% gain in global comparable store sales.

Various sectors posted gains as strength in the overseas markets generated broad based buying interest. Brokerage stocks posted some particularly strong gain. Lehman Brothers (LEH: chart) climbed 2.9%, Bear Stearns (BRC: chart) rose 1.4%, and Goldman Sachs (GS: chart) gained 2.9%. The companies are all expected to report quarterly earnings growth. Semiconductor stocks showed significant strength after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the sector, due to expectations that fundamentals will progressively improve through 2008. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 84.03, or 0.69%, to 12,276.48. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index climbed 12.19, or 0.88%, to 1,404.16, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 23.25, or 0.98%, to 2,397.89. Bonds fell as stocks advanced; the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.52% from 4.50% late Wednesday


9:45AM U.S. stock markets opened little changed, looking for direction.
Wall Street advanced sharply Thursday, receiving a lift from recovering global markets and looking past lackluster retail sales reports for February. A strengthening U.S. dollar also contributed to the gains. Retailers posting disappointing results included Wal-Mart, Costco Wholesale, Limited Brands and others. Wal-Mart (WMT: chart) lost 0.5% in early trading. The company also lifted its dividend by 31%. Limited Brands (LTD: chart) shares advanced 1.2%, while Costco (COST: chart) traded down 0.5%. However, Nordstrom''s and Target Corp''s same-store sales beat estimates. Nordstrom (JWN: chart) rose 4.8% after it reported a 9.1% jump in same-store sales in February, beating the 5.7% estimate. Target (TGT: chart) gained 2.1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial average was supported by 27 of its 30 stocks, with General Motors (GM: chart) rising 1.8% and Citigroup (C: chart) morning up 1.9%. Dow component Ford Motor (F: chart) also helped blue-chip stocks, moving up 4.2% after its stock was upgraded to neutral from underperform at CSFB. Among other companies driven by analyst comments, AT&T (T: chart) gained 2% after A.G. Edwards upgraded its stock to buy from hold, due to valuation concerns. Likewise, Barnes & Noble (BKS: chart) rose 2.7% on brokerage upgrade. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 72.98, or 0.60%, to 12,265.43. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index climbed 10.73, or 0.77%, to 1,402.70, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 17.46, or 0.74%, to 2,392.10. Bonds fell as stocks rose; the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.52% from 4.50% late Wednesday.


9:30AM London advanced in morning trade Thursday on strong miners.
The UK market was higher in early trade in London. The FTSE 100 advance 43.1 points to 6,199.6 by late morning.