The nation's economy expanded by a greater than expected 2.1% in the fourth quarter to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow climbing 64 points to 20,724. Nasdaq rose 7 points to 5,905.
On the upside
Prana Biotechnology (Nasdaq: PRAN) will present pre-clinical evidence for PBT434 as a first-in-class disease modifying therapy to treat Parkinsonian movement disorders at the 13th International Conference for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases in Vienna.
Interpace Diagnostics Group (Nasdaq: IDXG) reported higher fourth quarter earnings and revenue.
Extreme Networks (Nasdaq: EXTR) will pay approximately $55 million in cash to acquire the data center switching, routing, and analytics business from Brocade Communications Systems from Broadcom (Nasdaq: AVGO) after Broadcom completes its acquisition of Brocade.
On the downside
Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU) disappointed with fourth quarter earnings that fell short of expectations.
Census Energy (NYSE: CVE) will acquire ConocoPhillips' (NYSE: COP) 50% stake in an oil sands partnership in Canada for approximately $13.3 billion.
Corbus Pharma (Nasdaq: CRBP) reported disappointing results from a Phase 2 study of anabasum to treat cystic fibrosis.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index rose 4 points to 2,365. Bitcoin fell $11 to $1032.
