Stocks traded higher in midday trading Thursday as investors looked past the lack of resolution in Greece and disappointing economic data at home. Traders focused on the cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine and strong earnings reports including from Cisco (CSCO) and Whole Foods (WFM). Whole Foods beat profit estimates and reported its same-store sales rose 4.5%. Deals news is driving shares in the online travel space. Expedia (EXPE) said it would buy rival Orbitz (OWW) for nearly $1.33 billion. And despite the weak government retail sales figures for January. Another report by the National Retail Federation is projecting sales will increase 4.1% from last year. The trade association cites healthy growth expectations in 2015 for its assessment.
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