A strengthening euro lifted the markets to a sharply higher open with the Dow surging 173 points to 17,922. Nasdaq climbed 39 points to 4,910.
On the upside
24/7 Wall Street noted that HC Wainwright lifted its price target on Amarin (Nasdaq: AMRN) from $2.50 to $10 on Thursday.
Microvision (Nasdaq: MVIS) received orders totaling $14.5 million.
Kandi Technologies (Nasdaq: KNDI) swung to a profit for 2014 as revenue nearly doubled.
On the downside
Profit taking weighed down shares of Mechel (NYSE: MTL).
Shares of SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) continued falling as crude oil extended its losses.
S&P Dow Jones Indices downgraded Avon (Nasdaq: AVP) from its S&P 500 index to the MidCap 400 Index.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 18 points to 2071. Bitcoin rose $7 to $291.
Strengthening euro boosts markets
March 16, 2015 at 10:43 AM EDT