An unexpected drop in jobless claims lifted the markets to a sharply higher open with the Dow soaring 132 points to 18,426. Nasdaq climbed 30 points to 5,325
On the upside
The Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period for the proposed merger of Hutchinson Technology (Nasdaq: HTCH) with TDK.
WCI Communities (NYSE: WCIC) will be acquired by Lennar (NYSE: LEN) for a premium of approximately $643 million in cash and stock.
Anavex Life Sciences (Nasdaq: AVXL) reported positive preclinical data for ANAVEX 2-73 to treat Parkinson's disease in mice.
On the downside
Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) reported sharply lower fourth quarter earnings as revenue fell.
First quarter earnings and revenue for Herman Miller (Nasdaq: MLHR) missed analyst estimates and the furniture maker forecast current quarter results below expectations.
Profit taking weighs down shares of Eleven Biotherapeutics (Nasdaq: EBIO).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 9 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 12 points to 2,176. Bitcoin added $1 to $597.