Author: Elena Todorova
123jump.com
Last Update: 1:10 PM EST February 27 2006

Stocks were driven higher by oil prices drop and better-than expected earnings from Lowe''s which eased concerns about corporate ptofits. The home improvement retailer posted Q4 profit rise of 87 cents a share on 7.8% same-store sales rise, beating estimates. The Nasdaq was the best performer, climbing 0.9%, supported by upgrades of SanDisk and M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers to buy from hold.