Sector roundup: Credit cards, home goods stores

Sector roundup: UBS upgrades credit-card companies; Stifel Nicolaus cuts Home Depot, Lowe's

Among the sector activity stories for Thursday, Feb. 21, from The Associated Press:

— Shares of credit card processors Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. edged higher after a UBS analyst upgraded both stocks to "Neutral."

— The housing market is finally rebounding — so it's time to downgrade home improvement retailers, a Stifel Nicholas analyst postulated, and downgraded Home Depot and Lowe's to "Hold" from "Buy."