The S&P 500 was up 1% to 2,059.93 in midday trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.1% to 17,828.72 and the Nasdaq was up 0.6% to 4,879.81.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond rose 0.1% to 2.11%.
The price of gold was flat at $1,152.60.
TECHNOLOGY
Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. was down 3.8% to $22.62 and a $3.5 billion market cap. London-based Barclay’s Capital downgraded the stock to “equal weight” from “overweight” and cut its price target to $26 from $29. The analyst cited a strong dollar in Europe, where 30% of Ingram’s 2014 revenue came from, and said the company missed Barclay’s fourth quarter projections for the region, despite an extra week in that period this year.
AGRICULTURE
Newport Beach-based American Vanguard Corp. was up 12% to $11.11 and a $323 million market cap. New York City-based Topeka Capital Markets upgraded the specialty chemicals maker to “buy” from “hold” and raised its price target from $12.50 to $14. Topeka said caution over the company’s “near term fundamentals” are superseded by expected regulatory changes that should spur demand for corn insecticides and increase the company’s earnings by 2016.
BANKING
Irvine-based Banc of California Inc. was up 1.6% to $11.85 and a $412 million market cap. St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Raymond James Capital upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “market perform” with a price target of $13.
RESTAURANTS
Costa Mesa-based El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. was up 4% to $24.42 and a $909 million market cap. The company reports earnings after the markets close today.
