First time applications for jobless claims dropped to a 3 1/2 year low lifting the markets to a higher open with the Dow climbing 74 points to 11,898. Nasdaq rose 6 points to 2545.
On the upside
Lam Research (Nasdaq: LRCX) will pay approximately $3.3 billion in stock to acquire rival Novellus Systems (Nasdaq: NVLS).
Ultrasound system company SonoSite (Nasdaq: SONO) agree to be acquired by Fujifilm Holdings in a deal valued at approximately $995 million including the assumption of debt.
Second quarter earnings nearly doubled for Fed Ex (NYSE: FDX) as online holiday shopping increased.
On the downside
Analysts downgraded BioSante Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BPAX) after the company reported that its LibiGel female sexual dysfunction drug failed two late stage clinical trials.
Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) rescued seven miners from the Lucky Friday silver mine in northern Idaho after a rock burst.
Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NYSE: GMCR) continued falling after Stifel Nicolaus analyst Mark Astrachan cited slowing sales of the Keurig brewer for maintaining a Sell rating on the company yesterday.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 5 points to 713.