ADRs in Focus: Upgrade Lifts Unilever

John Parker raised his rating on shares of the Anglo-Dutch company to "Buy" from "Hold." He said that rivals like Nestle are reporting strong first-quarter results. Parker lifted his sales and profit estimates, and added that Unilever shares lagged their peers over the first three months of the year.

Shares of London-based Unilever PLC rose 99 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $34.71, and Unilever NV picked up 70 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $34.42.

Unilever trades as ADRs, or American Depositary Receipts, which are securities that allow U.S. investors to trade shares of companies based overseas.

With the markets climbing in afternoon trading, the Bank of New York Europe ADR index gained 5.22 points, or 3.12 percent, to 172.39.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 340 points late in the session, while the Nasdaq composite and Standard & Poor's 500 both gained more than 3 percent.