The markets opened mixed with the Dow rising 26 points to 17,207 while Nasdaq lost 15 points to 4,589 as the ruble collapsed.
On the upside
Repsol offered a premium of approximately $8.3 billion in cash to acquire Talisman Energy (NYSE: TLM).
Novogen (Nasdaq: NVGN) announced that its TRXE-009 has been highly effective against melanoma in pre-clinical studies.
Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP) will work with its wholesale partners to reduce inventories.
On the downside
Share of Yandex (Nasdaq: YNDX) tumbled as the value of the ruble plunged.
Frontline (NYSE: FRO) entered debt-for-equity exchange.
The Data and Safety Monitoring Board determined that Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: CYCC) ongoing Phase 3 study of sapacitabine was not likely to statistically significant improvement in survival.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 eased a point to 1987. Bitcoin fell $11 to $331.
Mixed open as ruble collapses
December 16, 2014 at 09:42 AM EST