Analyst upgrades of a trio of blue-chip companies pushed the stock market higher, allowing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to return to positive territory for 2010 to date. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.38 points, or 0.5%, to 10444.14, leaving it up 0.2% for the year. It was led by a 2.9% gain in Walt Disney after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the company to "buy" from "neutral." Two other Dow components benefited from upgrades by UBS. Coca-Cola, which was moved to a "buy" rating from "neutral," was up 1%. Boeing gained 1.7% after being moved to a "neutral" rating from "sell" by the investment bank, which said a greater proportion of airlines are now looking to speed deliveries of new aircraft rather than postpone them. Better-than-anticipated readings of jobless claims and nonfarm business activity also helped the market, though data on factory orders and pending home sales were disappointing. All the week's economic data, however, have been viewed mostly as precursors to a highly anticipated payrolls report due Friday morning.[Read more...]