The nation's economy grew at a strong 5% annual rate in the third quarter to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 54 points to 18,013, topping 18,000 for the first time. Nasdaq edged up a point to 4,782.
On the upside
Vanda Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: VNDA) will regain all U.S. and Canadian rights to the schizophrenia treatment Fanapt from Novartis. Novartis will also make a $25 million equity investment in Vanda and grant Vanda an exclusive worldwide license to AQW051, a phase II alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist.
NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ) will repurchase up to $80 million worth of common stock.
China Finance Online (Nasdaq: JRJC) widened losses for the third quarter but revenue surged.
On the downside
Shares of Ocwen Financial (NYSE: OCN) extended its losses.
Robert W. Baird downgraded Achillion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ACHN) from an Outperform rating to a Neutral rating.
Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) stock continued to drop.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 added 3 points to 2081. Bitcoin rose $2 to $331.
Dow tops 18,000 on strong GDP
December 23, 2014 at 09:43 AM EST