Jobless claims almost went under 500,000 and gave one of the lowest readings this year. Unfortunately that wasn't enough for the market because these likely need to get under 400,000 or so before unemployment will stop rising. Oil inventories took some fuel from oil, but the weak 30-Year Treasury auction and the government's budget deficit kept the six day rally from turning into a 7-day rally.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,197.47 -93.79 (-0.91%)
S&P 500 1,087.21 -11.30 (-1.03%)
Nasdaq 2,149.29 -17.61 (-0.81%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades
Top Day Trader Alerts
Top Stock/Market Rumors

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded Aeropostale (ARO) to neutral from sell. The firm, which has a $34 target on the stock, cites the recent sell-off in shares for the upgrade.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Consolidated Water (CWCO) to buy from neutral on valuation and on expectations the company's earnings will recover in 2010. The firm has a $15 target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Transmontaigne Partners (TLP) to buy from hold on valuation as it believes the sell-off on the company's Q3 results is overdone. The firm keeps a $26.50 price target on the stock.
• Mobile TeleSystems (MBT) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• HSBC (HBC) was raised to buy from hold at Societe Generale.
• Redwood Trust (RWT) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Polaris Industries (NYSE: PII) to Buy from Hold after channel checks indicated the company's sales trends improved through September. The firm raised its target on shares to $49 from $33.
• Jefferies upgraded Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated IT spending will be strong in the second half of 2009, but the firm finds the stock fully valued at current levels. Jefferies raised its target on shares to $40 from $32.
• Pali Captital upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) to Buy from Neutral on valuation and expectations that lower pricing and international growth will be catalysts going forward. The firm set a $45 price target on shares.
• Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JPMorgan.
• Advanced Micro (NYSE: AMD) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• PPD Inc. (NASDAQ: PPDI) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.

"The technical backdrop has taken a distinctly bullish turn," says Michael Ashbaugh in MarketWatch's The Technical Indicator. Here, he looks at the market averages and a trio of stock ideas.

"Perhaps most obviously, the S&P has staged a 10-to-1 rally, and a 28-to-1 spike, from its 200-day moving average. And by any measure, this raises a bullish technical flag.

"With a gravity-defying rally, the S&P extended its gains, clearing resistance at 930 last Thursday. From current levels, significant resistance holds at the 2009 closing high of 946 while initial support rests at 930.

"Meanwhile, the Dow's near-term view is similar. With this week's rally, it's staged a 'V'-shaped reversal, breaking to one-month highs. Looking ahead, significant resistance holds at 8,799 - matching the 2009 closing high - while support rests at 8,580, matching the breakout point.

Analyst Upgrades

• Baird upgraded Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to Outperform from Neutral based on field research that indicates improving traffic trends and visibility from cost savings initiatives.
• FBR Capital upgraded E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Outperform from Underperform citing an attractive risk/reward following the company's capital raise and debt exchange commencement. The firm believes the worst is behind the company and has a $2 target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Sonic (NASDAQ: SONC) to Outperform from Perform on expectations demand trends will improve, leading to more normalized profitability.
• Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• ConAgra (NYSE: CAG) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Analyst upgrades:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) to Overweight from Equal Weight as they expect the company to benefit from higher natural gas prices in 2010. The firm has a $34 target on shares.
• Citigroup upgraded Energy Conversion (NASDAQ: ENER) to Hold from Sell on valuation is it finds the risk/reward balanced at current levels. The firm raised its target price to $16 from $13.
• Jefferies upgraded Lifetime Brands (NASDAQ: LCUT) to Buy from Underperform to reflect reduced liquidity concerns and an improved outlook for Global Direct Sellers. The firm raised its target price to $4 from $2.
• American Eagle (NYSE: AEO) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• TJX Companies (NYSE: TJX) was upgraded at Barclays to Overweight from Equal Weight and to Outperform from Netural at Credit Suisse.
• STEC Inc (NASDAQ: STEC) was raised to Overweight from Market Weight at Thomas Weisel.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Buy from Hold on expectations expanding OEM partnerships, new products and entry into new markets will drive long-term growth. The firm's channel checks indicate the first phase of an IBM (NYSE: IBM) deal for ethernet products will be announced next week. Jefferies raised its target price on the stock to $6 from $3.50.
  
• JMP Securities upgraded Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) to Market Perform from Underperform citing the potential settlement with Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). The firm said Broadcom has far more to gain than Qualcomm has to lose.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Air Products (NYSE: APD) and Praxair (NYSE: PX) to Buy from Hold on expectations that an improvement in customer operating rates will benefit gas companies. The firm raised its target price on Air Products to $70 from $55 and on Praxair to $79 from $63.
  
• Royal Bank of Scotland upgraded BP Plc (NYSE: BP) to Buy from Hold to reflect its dividend yield at current levels.
• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Outperform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
  
• T. Rowe Price (NYSE: TROW) was upgraded at Sandler O'Neill to Hold from Sell.
  
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was lifted to Neutral from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded shares of SourceFire (NASDAQ:FIRE) to Buy from Hold as they believe the company is benefiting from recent spending by the U.S. Federal government and private enterprises to improve cybersecurity. The firm raised their price target on the stock to $11 from $7.
  
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Brocade (NASADAQ:BRCD) to Buy from Neutral as they believe an expanded OEM announcement with IBM (NYSE:IBM) could be announced as early as the end of April, creating a positive catalyst. The firm raised their price target on the stock to $6 from $4.
  
• UBS upgraded Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) to Buy from Sell but lowered their target to $4 from $21 citing reduced churn and cashflow concerns, expectations for FY10 to be a trough year, and a potential reacceleration in deferred growth.
• AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Strattec (NASDAQ:STRT) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at Baird.
  
• Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) was upgraded at William Blair to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades:

• JP Morgan upgraded Alcoa (NYSE: AA) to Overweight from Neutral and added shares to its Focus List. The analyst said the equity offering and dividend cut provide enough "liquidity insurance" to make it through 2009 and now views risk/reward as attractive.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Asbury Automotive (NYSE: ABG) to Buy from Hold as it finds the current valuation attractive and thinks the company's cost savings will drive upside in a recovery. The firm raised its target price to $7 from $5.50.
  
• Barclays upgraded Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC) to Overweight from Equal Weight. Following their healthcare conference and management meetings, the firm sees increased visibility into revenues.
• Waddell & Reed (NYSE: WDR) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Nokia (NYSE: NOK) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) was lifted to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded IberiaBank (NASDAQ: IBKC) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's capital raise, which the firm believes strengthens IberiaBank's balance sheet. Baird upgraded IberiaBank to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation following weakness related to the $100M capital raise.
  
• Pali upgraded shares of Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ: URBN) to Neutral from Sell on valuation as they believe the company's comp slowdown is largely priced in at current levels.
  
• Morgan Keegan upgraded Casey's General Store (NASDAQ: CASY) to Outperform from Market Perform based on valuation, healthy SSS, and easing comps.
• Cabot OIl & Gas (NYSE: COG) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) were added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
  
• CIBC lifted Manulife (NYSE: MFC) to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer.

Analyst downgrades:

• Goldman downgraded Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Sell from Neutral based on expectations for reduced capex spending by mining and oil & gas companies and the impact from the credit crunch.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded auto companies and suppliers as they believe the failed government bailout increases risks. Ford (NYSE: F), American Axle (NYSE: AXL), Magna International (NYSE: MGA) and Lear (NYSE: LEA) were downgraded to Sell from Hold.
  
• SAP (NYSE: SAP) was cut to Hold from Buy at Jefferies to reflect the "deteriorating" corporate IT spend environment.
• Waters (NYSE: WAT) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Agilent (NYSE: A) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays; the firm also downgraded Varian (NASDAQ: VARI) to Underweight from Equal Weight.

Analyst initiations:

• Jefferies believes Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB) is well positioned to benefit from the increasing need for reservoir optimization services. Shares were initiated with a Buy rating and $70 target.
  
• Deutsche Bank initiated Capital One (NYSE: COF) with a Sell rating and $24 target, citing the difficult economic environment and the potential for higher credit losses.
  
• Soleil started Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) with a Buy rating and $10 target and expects the company's military business to remain strong through 2010.
• On Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ONNN) was assumed with a Neutral rating and $3.80 target at UBS.
  
• Cbeyond (NASDAQ: CBEY) was initiated at Oppenheimer with a Perform rating.
• Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) was started with a Neutral rating at Piper Jaffray.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Ball (NYSE: BLL) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $45 from $41 as they believe recent capacity closures will be positive for beverage can operating rates.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's plans to preserve cash.
• ThinkPanmure upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Accumulate from Sell and raised its target to $17 from $12 citing trough earnings in 2009 and lowered expectations.
• Viacom B (NYSE: VIA.B) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Onyx Pharma (NASDAQ: ONXX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Texas Instruments, SanDisk and Brocade were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Merrill Lynch downgraded shares of Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Neutral from Buy after the company reported lower-than-expected Q3 results due to concerns regarding elevated inventory levels and rising raw material and labor costs. Merrill lowered their target to $27 from $32.
  
• Citigroup cut SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Sell from Hold after the company reported a Q2 miss and offered lower-than-expected guidance. Citigroup lowered their target price to $14 from $20.
  
• JMP Securities downgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Market Perform from Outperform following the company's announcement to buy Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY) for $19.25 per share.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• ArthroCare (NASDAQ: ARTC) was lowered to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO) and Lenovo Group (LNVGY) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• iStar Financial (NYSE: SFI) was downgraded to Sell from Buy at UBS.
  
• Goldman removed Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) from the Conviction Buy List.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: PetMed Express, Mindspeed and QLogic were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Piper upgraded shares of PetMed Express (NASDAQ: PETS) to Neutral from Sell after the company's Q1 results topped estimates on strong new customer growth. Piper raised their target to $14 from $11.
  
• Oppenheimer raised Mindspeed (NASDAQ: MSPDD) to Outperform from Perform following the Q3 results, as they believe the company is hitting its stride in VoIP after years of investment and the stock is attractively valued.
  
• Citigroup upgraded QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) shares to Buy from Hold following the company's Q1 results and Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD)'s acquisition of Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY) to reflect its solid fundamentals and the strategic significance of its switch business. The firm raised their target to $20 from $18.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Goldman added Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) to the Conviction Buy List.
  
• Cleco (NYSE: CNL) was raised to Buy from Hold at Soleil.
  
• Canadian National Oil (NYSE: CNI) was upgraded at TD Newcrest to Buy from Hold.

Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY), which builds networking technologies, went public in 1999. With the Internet surge, the stock price went over $200.

Of course, that was a temporary thing. Since then, Foundry's shareholders have suffered.

However, this week they got some cheery news. Foundry agreed to sell out to Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD). The deal comes to about $2.91 billion in a combination of cash and stock.

Essentially, the deal blends some key technologies. While Brocade has a strong footprint in fiber channel systems, Foundry is a top player in switches and 10-gigabit Ethernet offerings.

If anything, it's a necessary step to deal with the intensely competitive environment, especially against the mighty Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO).

No doubt, Brocade has demonstrated success with M&A, such as with its acquisition of McData. However, networking deals can be tricky. After all, Brocade operates primarily on an OEM basis whereas Foundry has a large direct sales force.

There is some financial risk too as Brocade needs to borrow about $1.4 billion.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Foundry Networks (NASDAQ:FDRY) is up over 30% on a buy-out by Brocade (NASAQ:BRCD). Brocade is off nearly 20% on the same news.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is off 10% on a weak forecast for the next quarter.

Wachovia (NYSE:WB) is off 12% on poor earnings and a dividend cut.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) is down over 10% after reporting a weak quarter.

Texas Instrument (NYSE:TXN) is off over 10% on poor numbers.

Shares may trade differently in the pre-market than they do in the regular session.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com