The markets opened higher with the Dow gaining 27 points to 17,159 as investors await the Federal Reserve's policy statement this afternoon. Nasdaq rose 9 points to 4,561.
On the upside
Net Element (Nasdaq: NETE) will enable merchants to accept Apple Pay.
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AUXL) received an acquisition offer from Endo Pharmaceuticals valued at approximately $2.2 billion.
The Canadian unit of United States Steel (NYSE: X) will file for creditor protection.
On the downside
Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) named Taylor Rhodes to replace Graham Weston as chief executive and ended discussions to sell itself.
Sony (NYSE: SNE) warned that losses for the fiscal year would soar to $2.15 billion, canceled dividend payments and announced plans to eliminate approximately 1,000 positions.
Sunoco Logistics Partners (NYSE: SXL) priced its public offering of 7.7 million common units at the discounted price of $48.46 per unit.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 3 points to 2002. Bitcoin lost $6 to $452.
Higher open ahead of Fed policy statement
September 17, 2014 at 10:42 AM EDT