Rising crude oil prices lifted the markets to a sharply higher open with the Dow leaping 136 points to 17,678. Nasdaq climbed 33 points to 4,882.

On the upside

Under Armour (NYSE: UA) completed a 2-for-1 stock split.

Corning (NYSE: GLW) will acquire Alliance Fiber Optics (Nasdaq: AFOP) in an all cash deal valued at approximately $305 million.

Hedge fund Starboard acquired a 9.8% stake in DepoMed (Nasdaq: DEPO).

On the downside

Viking Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VKTX) priced its public offering of 7.5 million common shares and warrants at the discounted price of $1.25 per unit.

March same store sales for Gap (NYSE: GPS) dropped 6%.

Investors locked in profits on Intercept Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ICPT).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 16 points to 2,057. Bitcoin added $1 to $420.