A strong 1.0% increase in construction spending boosted the markets to a sharply higher close with the Dow surging 168 points to 17,888. Nasdaq climbed 47 points to 5,156.
On the upside
SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE) cancelled an agreement to acquire a 15% stake in Renova Energia for $250 million.
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) continued to rise.
Insider Monkey noted that hedge funds were bullish on Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK).
On the downside
Empresas (NYSE: ICA) missed a $31 million interest payment on its senior notes and has entered into a 30-day grace period.
Investors locked in profits on Bon-Ton Stores (Nasdaq: BONT).
Stifel downgraded Rex Energy (Nasdaq: REXX) from a Hold rating to a Sell rating.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 7 to 3 on the NYSE and by 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 surged 22 points to 2,102. Bitcoin tumbled $18 to $359.
