An upbeat jobs report lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 38 points to 15,953. Nasdaq gained 12 points to 4049.
On the upside
The Food and Drug Administration granted 510(k) clearance to Oculus Innovative Sciences’ (Nasdaq: OCLS) Microcyn® Scar Management HydroGel.
The Food and Drug Administration accepted ARCA biopharma’s (Nasdaq: ABIO) Gencaro(™) Investigational New Drug application for atrial fibrillation.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) will eliminate 1,124 jobs in the United Kingdom by the end of January 2014.
On the downside
Express (NYSE: EXPR) reported higher third quarter earnings but the results fell short of expectations and the apparel retailer cut its full year guidance amidst a challenging holiday shopping season.
Investors locked in profits on EnteroMedics (Nasdaq: ETRM).
Profit taking sank shares of Turquoise Hill Resources (NYSE: TRQ).
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE while advancers were on par with decliners on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1798. Bitcoin held steady at $1,097.10.
