A greater than expected increase in October retail sales lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 27 points to 15,994. Nasdaq gained 13 points to 3944.
On the upside
Shares of SGOCO Group (Nasdaq: SGOC) rose ahead of its earnings release after market close today.
Unilife (Nasdaq: UNIS) signed a 15-year global agreement to supply Hikma Pharmaceuticals with its Unifill pre-filled syringes.
J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) widened third quarter losses more than expected but the retailer expects same store sales to improve in the current quarter.
On the downside
Aeterna Zentaris (Nasdaq: AEZS) priced its public offering of 13.1 million units at the discounted price of $1.15 per unit.
Northwest Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: NWBO) priced its public offering of nearly 4.9 million units at the discounted price of $4.80 per unit.
Seaspan (NYSE: SSW) priced its public offering of 3.5 million common shares at the discounted price of $22 per share.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 6 points to 1794.
