Mid-Day Market Update: Markets Rise Further; BGC Partners Sees a Boost

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded up 1.32 percent to 12,755.07 while the NASDAQ rose 1.81 percent to 2,904.64. The S&P also rose, increasing 1.62 percent to 1,381.95.

Intel

chief executive officer Paul Otellini announced that he would be retiring in May. Following the news, Intel's market opening was delayed about 10 minutes, after which it traded down a little under 2 percent.

BGC partners

traded up 12.91 percent to $3.76 following a Raymond James Upgrade to Strong Buy. Shares of Magnum Hunter Resources

rose 12.50 percent to $3.87 after filing an 8-K on Friday. Cirrus Logic

was also up, increasing 9.55 percent to $30.97, possibly linked to the Taiwan Semiconductor rally earlier in the day.

Acacia Research

fell 10.07 to $21.08, possibly a correction from its Friday rally. K12

was also down, falling 13.55 percent to $17.68 after the company was downgraded at Wells Fargo. Shares of MicroStrategy

fell 6.22 percent to $86.07 following a price target cut at Roth.

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.43 percent to $86.67, while gold traded up 1.12 percent to $1,738.10. Silver traded up 0.76 percent Monday to $33.13.

European markets rose early this morning, riding hopes that a deal on the fiscal cliff would soon be reached in Washington. A few eurozone leaders were also out with comments this morning. The Austrian finance minister stated that Greece cannot expect additional aid or a debt cut for its finances. The Dutch and German finance minister spokespeople also made statements, both indicating that they did not believe a decision on Greece would be made at Tuesday's meeting.

In economic news, existing home sales came in at 2.1 percent, well above the expected -0.2 percent and the prior report of -2.9 percent. NAHB housing market index was also reported, coming in at 46, above the expected release and the prior report of 41.