Corporate consolidations sparked a rally that sent the markets soaring to a sharply higher close with the Dow rocketing 263 points to 17,976. Nasdaq leaped 56 points to 4,947.
On the upside
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Genetic Technologies (Nasdaq: GENE).
Ford (NYSE: F) introduced the revived Lincoln Continental Concept using patented technology from Research Frontiers (Nasdaq: REFR) for an SPD-SmartGlass electronically tinting sunroof.
Fortune Brands Home & Security (NYSE: FBHS) offered a premium of approximately $600 million in cash to buy Norcraft (NYSE: NCFT).
On the downside
H.C. Wainwright analyst Andrew S. Fein said that data from a small study that was released by OvaScience (Nasdaq: OVAS) last week was promising but that it was too early to determine the viability of the fertility treatment Augment.
RBC Capital Markets downgraded Oi SA (NYSE: OIBR) from a Sector Perform rating to an Underperform rating.
Shares of 500.com (NYSE: WBAI) extended its losses.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 25 points to 2086. Bitcoin added $6 to $246.
Markets rocket higher on corporate consolidations
March 30, 2015 at 17:57 PM EDT