Rebounding crude oil prices lifted the markets to a sharply higher open with the Dow soaring 92 points to 17,628. Nasdaq climbed 23 points to 4,741.
On the upside
Anacor Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ANAC) will be acquired by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) for a premium of approximately $5.2 billion in cash.
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Lending Club (NYSE: LC).
Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) will acquire Memorial Resource Development (Nasdaq: MRD) in an all stock transaction valued at approximately $4.4 billion including the assumption of debt.
On the downside
Aduro BioTech (Nasdaq: ADRO) reported disappointing results from a Phase 2b ECLIPSE trial in pancreatic cancer patients.
Shares of Sunrun (Nasdaq: RUN) extended its losses.
Investors locked in profits on Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 9 points to 2,055. Bitcoin slipped $1 to $455.
