InVision Technologies Inc rose US$0.57 to US$23.82. The maker of machines that detect explosives in airport luggage said fourth- quarter earnings rose sixfold, beating the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call.
Intuit Inc gained US$2.76 to US$44.43. The maker of software used to prepare income-tax returns earned 61 cents a share in the fiscal second quarter, excluding discontinued operations and costs such as amortization. On that basis, it beat analysts' average estimate by US$0.4.
A pair of economic reports helped stocks climb. US industrial production jumped 0.7 percent in January, the most in six months, the Federal Reserve said. Economists polled by Bloomberg News had forecast a 0.3 percent increase.
Business inventories rose for an eighth straight month, gaining 0.6 percent in December, a separate Commerce Department report showed, as companies replenished stockpiles to meet demand. The average forecast was for a 0.2 percent advance.
Universal Health Services Inc tumbled US$6.96 to US$34.99. The operator of acute-care and psychiatric hospitals fired Chief Financial Officer Kirk Gorman. Gorman said he told auditor KPMG LLP he was "confused" about whether he could certify company accounts because he didn't have the expertise to verify all the details. KPMG then went to the board. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co declined US$0.41 to US$21.99. Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH's AIDS drug Viramune is as effective as Bristol-Myers' Sustiva, a study found.
S&P 500 futures expiring in March rose 18 to 837 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. March futures on the NASDAQ-100 Index advanced 23.50 to 985. The index, a benchmark for NASDAQ's largest companies, gained 30.19, or 3.2 percent, to 982.09. NASDAQ-100 tracking shares, called Cubes because of their QQQ ticker symbol, rose US$0.55 to US$24.49. The S&P 500 shares known as Spiders gained US$1.80 to US$84.15.
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