Facebookended higher, recovering some losses from the last two trading sessions. Needham initiated coverage of the firm with a "buy" rating and a $40 price target. (Read More: Morgan Stanley Under Review Over Handling of Facebook)
Meanwhile, the NYSE is courting a stock listing from Facebook, according to reports, following a disappointing IPO on rival Nasdaq's trading platform last week. The NYSE denied the report, while the Nasdaq and Facebook declined to comment.
Dell plunged after the IT giant forecast disappointing second-quarter revenue as U.S. and European corporate tech spending weakens and consumer personal computer sales continue to shrink. At least nine brokerages slashed their price target on the firm. Other tech companies traded lower, including Microsoft , AMD and JuniperNetworks .
Rival Hewlett-Packard is scheduled to post after the closing bell tonight. The Dow component is also expected to announce steep layoffs during its earnings report.
Toll Brothers rallied after the luxury homebuilder posted earnings that beat expectationsand reported a strong jump in new orders, thanks to a strong spring selling season.
Guess jumped after the clothing maker reported a quarterly profit that beat market expectations. And PetSmart surged after the pet products retailer posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year outlook. At least nine brokerages boosted their price target on the firm.
Ford received its second "investment grade" credit rating, allowing the second-largest U.S. automaker to reclaim its Blue Oval insignia and other assets it mortgaged in 2006 to fund its turnaround plan.
Meanwhile, Ariba eked out a small gain after European software company SAP said it plans to buy the companyin a deal valued around $4.3 billion, the latest sideswipe against rival Oracle in the fast-growing Internet-based computing market.
On the economic front, new home sales rose 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 343,000-unit annual rate in April, according to the Commerce Department, beating expectationsfor a 335,000-unit reading.
Treasurys prices held near session highsafter the government auctioned $35 billion in 5-year notes at a high yield of 0.748 and bid-to-cover of 2.99.
—By CNBC’s JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: @JeeYeonParkCNBC)
Coming Up This Week:
THURSDAY: Durable goods orders, jobless claims, 7-yr note auction, BlackRock shareholders mtg, Goldman Sachs shareholders mtg, McDonald's shareholders mtg; Earnings from Costco, Tiffany
FRIDAY: Consumer sentiment, USDA food prices outlook
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