Stocks Up Sharply On Bernanke (LGF, CALM, CXDC, AOL, MU)

U.S. stocks jumped sharply on Monday after the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke assured that the central bank would continue supportive monetary policies even as the unemployment rate improves.The Dow Jones industrial average added 126 points, or 0.96%, to 13,206. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index surged 13.50 points, or 1%, to 1,411. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 36 points, or 1.20%, to 3,106.

Bernanke’s speech “reiterated themes that Federal Reserve policy makers have used to justify policy accommodation since last summer,” wrote economists at Nomura Global Economics, who said the arguments used by Bernanke — largely pointing to weakness in the labor market despite some recent signs of improvement — support further policy action.
The National Association of Realtors said on Monday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in February, unexpectedly fell 0.5% to 96.5, missing economists’ estimates of a rise of 1%. Also last week, showed sales of previously owned homes slid in February and the decline in signed contracts suggests home purchases could be weak again in March.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA)(NYSE:LGF) jumped over 3% as the company’s film "The Hunger Games," had a strong opening, which has generated $214 million over the weekend globally. Cal-Maine Foods Inc(NASDAQ:CALM) shares slid 3.55% to $40.46 after hitting a new 52-week high of $42.40 earlier in the session after the company reported decreased  fiscal third-quarter earnings hurt by lower margins, due to rise in costing for feed. The company earned 13 cents a share on revenue of $303.7 million. China XD Plastics Co Ltd(NASDAQ:CXDC) surged 5.60% to $5.48 after the company said that it earned $18.5 million or 40 cents a share, on revenue of $113.9 million. The company expected to earn $82 million and $85 million on revenue of $550 million and $580 million in FY2012.

VMware, Inc.(NYSE:VMW) surged 0.40% to $109.26 after analyst at ThinkEquity lifted its price target on the stock by $20 to $120, , citing upbeat prospects for the virtualization market. A strong outlook for virtualization projects in the firm's survey of IT managers sparks its view that 2012 "is likely to see a significant increase in virtualization of mission critical apps in the data center."

AOL, Inc.(NYSE:AOL) gained 2.60% to $18.97 on reports from Bloomberg that the company has has hired  Evercore Partners in order to sell its more than 800 patents and explore other strategic options.
Micron Technology, Inc.(NASDAQ:MU) slid over 2% to $8.23 after analyst at Oppenheimer reduced their rating on the stock to Perform. The stock has jumped 30%-plus YTD, and the firm says “it was easy to set a price target of at least book value, but once that has been crossed, it becomes difficult to justify a higher valuation unless Micron becomes profitable... Investors should take profits as Micron strives for profitability."