Rising crude oil prices lifted the markets during the midday with the Dow gaining 77 points to 17,680. Nasdaq climbed 46 points to 4,890.
On the upside
Newly appointed Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) director Bill Ackman said that the board may name a new chief executive within weeks.
Capital Cube highlighted the earnings trend of Weibo (Nasdaq: WB).
Bargan hunters continued to snap up shares of Anacor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ANAC).
On the downside
Profit taking weighed down shares of Sky Solar Holdings (Nasdaq: SKYS).
MannKind (Nasdaq: MNKD) extended its losses.
ITG Investment Research cut its first quarter retail unit sales forecast for Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 12 points to 2,057. Bitcoin slipped $1 to $419.
