The markets solidified its gains with the Dow rising 97 points to 14,670 while Nasdaq rose 23 points to 3262.
On the upside
Shares of Hertz Global Holdings (Nasdaq: HTZ) rose following a forecast for strong earnings and revenue growth through 2015 due to increasing global demand for car rentals.
Investors snapped up shares of Optimer Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OPTR) after the antibiotic maker revealed that it was weighing a sale of the company.
German drugmaker Merz Pharma Group announced a $380 million bid for dermatology products maker Obagi (Nasdaq: OMPI) that topped an
offer made by Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX).
On the downside
Shares of Uni-Pixel (Nasdaq: UNXL) retreated as investors took profits on the touch screen sensor maker.
iGo (Nasdaq:IGOI) posted a drop in quarterly revenues due to lower sales of its power management products.
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) and Allied Nevada Gold Corp (NYSE: ANV) dropped as precious metals prices fell sharply.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 4 to 3 on the NYSE and by 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index added 6 points to 1568.
