A stronger than expected increase in construction spending lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow climbing 52 points to 17,829. Nasdaq gained 21 points to 4,748.
On the upside
Viggle (Nasdaq: VGGL) entered a strategic marketing partnership with HGTV.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical will pay approximately $3.5 billion in cash to acquire Avanir Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVNR).
Cypress Semiconductor (Nasdaq: CY) will acquire Spansion (NYSE: CODE) for approximately $1.59 billion in an all stock transaction.
On the downside
Shares of Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) continued falling.
Opening statements begin today in a class action lawsuit against Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) over digital music.
Vince Holding (NYSE: VNCE) reported higher third quarter earnings and revenue that topped analyst estimates but the stock price dropped.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 8 points to 2061. Bitcoin added $2 to $381.
Strong construction spending lifts markets
December 02, 2014 at 09:42 AM EST