On the upside
The Food and Drug Administration approved an over the counter version of Santarus' (Nasdaq: SNTS) heartburn treatment Zegerid made by Merck (NYSE: MRK).
Dyax (Nasdaq: DYAX) announced that the Food and Drug Administration approved its hereditary angioedema treatment Kalbitor.
The Food and Drug Administration granted Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: KERX) fast track status for its cancer drug Perifosine.
On the downside
Rino International (Nasdaq: RINO) will raise approximately $100 million through the direct placement offering of common stock.
Regency Energy Partners (Nasdaq: RGNC) will raise capital to pay down debt by offering up to 10 million common shares.
Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) disappointed with a smaller than expected gain in November same store sales as consumers trimmed their discretionary spending.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 4 points to 594.