A drop in first time applications for unemployment benefits lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 53 points to 12,139. Nasdaq climbed 17 points to 2715.
On the upside
Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) will acquire drugstore.com (Nasdaq: DSCM) in an all cash deal valued at approximately $429 million.
Second quarter earnings dropped for Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) but the results beat analyst expectations.
Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) reported higher fourth quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst estimates.
On the downside
International Coal (NYSE: ICO) subsidiary ICG Eastern was sued by three environmental groups for discharging toxic selenium into waterways in violation of state and federal laws.
Shares of Prana Biotechnology (Nasdaq: PRAN) continued falling after announcing a private placement yesterday to raise approximately $6.19 million.
Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NYSE: GMCR), maker of the popular Keurig single brewer, tumbled after Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) announced that it will introduce a single-serve cofffee brewer next year.
In the broad market, declining issues edged out advancers by a slim margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE while advancers outpaced decliners by 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 810.