The Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 index rose in midday trading Tuesday as investors reacted to a surprising jump in April home sales, but also weighed a drop in consumer confidence so far this month and negative home price data.
The S&P MidCap 400 is an index used to track midsized companies that have a market capitalization of $1.5 billion to $5.5 billion. According to S&P, midcap stocks make up roughly 7 percent of the U.S. equities market.
The index rose 2.01 points to 860.51.
Shares of Darden Restaurants Inc. rose $1.18, or 3.6 percent, to $32.88. Merrill Lynch upgraded the chain to "Buy" from "Neutral" on Tuesday.
Shares of MGIC Investment Corp. gained 40 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $11.90.
Shares of Citizens Communications Co. increased 37 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $11.39. Credit Suisse upgraded the telephone, television and Internet services provider Tuesday to "Outperform" from "Neutral."
On the falling side, shares of Sprint Nextel Corp. lost 34 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $8.34.
Shares of Fannie Mae lost $1.05, or 3.8 percent, to $26.54. Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller said Tuesday its national home price index slipped 14.1 percent in the first quarter over the year-ago period to its lowest level since it was created in 1988.
Shares of InterContinental Exchange Inc. lost $5.71, or 4 percent, to $137.
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