A strong 22.6% surge in durable goods orders lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 44 points to 17,120. Nasdaq rose 6 points to 4564.
On the upside
Burger King (NYSE: BKW) will pay approximately $11 billion in cash and stock to acquire Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons (NYSE: THI).
Kite Pharma (Nasdaq: KITE) reported upbeat results from an ongoing Phase 1-2a clinical trial of its non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment KTE-C19.
Second quarter earnings and revenue surpassed analyst expectations for DSW (NYSE: DSW) prompting the discount shoes retailer to lift its full year earnings outlook.
On the downside
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) swung to a profit for the second quarter but revenue fell short of analyst expectations.
Shares of Qihoo 360 Technology (NYSE: QIHU) extended its losses.
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) reported sharply lower second quarter earnings as revenue fell.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 added 3 points to 2001. Bitcoin rose $5 to $508.