Crude oil advanced again to send the markets soaring to a sharply higher open with the Dow surging 176 points to 17,545. Nasdaq leaped 58 points to 5,010.
On the upside
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) signed a twenty year deal to supply Walgreens (Nasdaq: WBA) with its products at discounted prices.
Short seller Whitney Tilson covered his short position on Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL).
Pacira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PCRX) reached an amicable resolution with the Food and Drug Administration over its EXPAREL post surgical analgesia.
On the downside
Neothetics (Nasdaq: NEOT) reported disappointing results from two Phase 3 trials of LIPO-202 to reduce central abdominal bulging due to subcutaneous fat.
Kennametal (NYSE: KMT) cited weak end market conditions for lowering its full year forecast.
Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) warned some users of possible hacks.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 surged 25 points to 2,047. Bitcoin climbed $17 to $458.