The markets surged to close sharply higher with the Dow jumping 146 points to 16,173 as March retail sales climbed more than expected. Nasdaq gained 22 points to 4022.
On the upside
UBS initiated coverage of Akebia Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AKBA) with a Buy rating.
Janney Capital upgraded Bebe Stores (Nasdaq: BEBE) from a Neutral rating to a Buy rating.
Shares of Cash America International (NYSE: CSH) continued rising.
On the downside
SMTC (Nasdaq: SMTX) fell to a loss for the fourth quarter.
Retrophin (Nasdaq: RTRX) raised its revenue forecast for 2014 and 2015 but reported that the Food and Drug Administration refused to grant a clinical trial for RE-024 as an Investigational New Drug.
Northwest Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: NWBO) entered an agreement to sell more than 2.27 million common shares at $6.60 to an institutional investor.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 14 points to 1829. Bitcoin soared $52.56 or 12.98% to $457.32.
