The withdrawal of Larry Summers as a candidate for chair of the Federal Reserve sent the markets soaring to a sharply higher open with the Dow surging 160 points to 15,536. Nasdaq gained 16 points to 3739.
On the upside
Packaging Corp. of America will pay a premium of approximately $1.27 billion to purchase Boise (NYSE: BZ).
Rockwell Medical (Nasdaq: RMTI) continued rising after being designated as a Barbarian at the Gate by Trade-Ideas.
Piper Jaffray affirmed its Overweight rating on Avanir Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVNR) saying that the recent stock price drop was a buying opportunity.
On the downside
Sohu.com's (Nasdaq: SOHU) strategic cooperation agreement with Tencent Holdings weighed down shares of Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU).
IAMGOLD (NYSE: IAG) and its joint venture partners will suspend mining excavation activities at the Yatela Mine on September 30, 2013.
Perion Network (NYSE: PVR) will merge with Conduit's Client Connect business.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 14 points to 1702.
