A late afternoon rally lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow gaining 75 points to 16,569. Nasdaq climbed 31 points to 4383.

On the upside

Shares of Durata Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DRTX) rose ahead of its earnings release later this week.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LGND) reported lower second quarter earnings but the results were better than expected.

Shares of Bonanza Creek Energy (NYSE: BCEI) climbed ahead of its earnings release after market close on Thursday, August 7.

On the downside

CBD Energy (Nasdaq: CBDE) updated investors on its balance sheet restructuring initiatives but the stock price fell.

Profit taking weighed down shares of Alliance Fiber Optic Products (Nasdaq: AFOP).

Investors locked in profits on El Pollo Loco (Nasdaq: LOCO).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 13 points to 1938. Bitcoin held steady at $584.