S&P 500 Leaders & Laggards: JDSU AIG BIG

The S&P 500 index rose 7.84 points to 1,339.13.

JDS Uniphase Corp., a communications test and fiber-optic network equipment company, advanced $1.65, or 13.8 percent, to $13.59.

Big Lots Inc., a discount retailer, advanced $2.14, or 13 percent, to $18.63.

Darden Restaurants Inc. rose $2.15, or 8 percent, to $29.01. Darden, which operates the Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurant chains, said same-store sales rose 1.2 percent so far in the fiscal third quarter.

Same-store sales, or sales in restaurants open at least one year, is a key gauge of retail industry performance because it measures sales at established restaurants rather than newly opened ones.

On the losing side, American International Group Inc. declined $5.94, or 11.7 percent, to $44.74, falling to its cheapest trade in five years. The insurer in a regulatory filing said auditors found material weakness in the way it reports the value of certain credit default swaps.

Lowes Corp. declined $3.73, or 8.3 percent, to $41. Profit declined in the fourth quarter because the conglomerate's insurance subsidiary lost money on its investments.

MGIC Investment Corp. lost $1.23, or 8.1 percent, to $14.01, following news that the mortgage insurer will limit exposure to weaker housing markets by demanding higher credit scores and larger down payments.