The markets soared to close sharply higher with the Dow surging 175 points to 17,710 as crude oil prices climbed. Nasdaq leaped 57 points to 4,775.
On the upside
Shares of Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AEGR) rose ahead of its earnings release after market close.
Rising crude oil prices lifted shares of Memorial Production Partners (Nasdaq: MEMP) and Pengrowth Energy (NYSE: PGH).
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway acquired 9.8 million shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) for approximately $1 billion in the first quarter.
On the downside
A.M. Castle & Co. (NYSE: CAS) entered exchange agreements with certain note holders.
Office Depot (Nasdaq: ODP) will discuss its business strategy after market close.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Bitauto Holdings (NYSE: BITA) from an Equal Weight rating to an Underweight rating.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 20 points to 2,066. Bitcoin fell $5 to $452.
