Markets soar as jobless claims fall

The markets surged higher during the midday with the Dow soaring 127 points to 16,380 as jobless claims dropped. Nasdaq climbed 47 points to 4,806.

On the upside

The National Institutes of Health's Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee unanimously approved Sangamo Biosciences' (Nasdaq: SGMO) ZFP Therapeutic Phase 1 study protocol.

Rumors that ZS Pharma (Nasdaq: ZSPH) may be acquired lifted shares of the company.

Rising copper prices lifted shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX).

On the downside

Sigma Designs (Nasdaq: SIGM) swung to a profit for the second quarter as revenue climbed but the stock price fell.

Basic Energy Services (NYSE: BAS) reported a sharply lower rig utilization rate for August.

Shares of Akebia Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AKBA) continued falling.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 16 points to 1,958. Bitcoin edged up a fraction to $237.