Mergers and acquisitions news sent the markets soaring during the midday with the Dow leaping 194 points to 16,297. Nasdaq surged 47 points to 4310.
On the upside
Dynasil (Nasdaq: DYSL) subsidiary Optometrics will supply L-3 Communications with optical components for three years.
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Prana Biotechnology (Nasdaq: PRAN).
Kandi Technologies (Nasdaq: KNDI) will expand its short-term electric vehicle rental service to Beijing and Shanghai.
On the downside
Shares of J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) fell ahead of its earnings release on Wednesday.
News that developers in China were cutting prices weighed down shares of E-House Holdings (NYSE: EJ).
LifeLock (NYSE: LOCK) warned that more whistleblower claims may be filed against the company.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 22 points to 1858. Bitcoin plummeted $135.27 or 77/30% to $175.00.