Reassurances by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen that interest rates would increase slowly and cautiously lifted the markets to a sharply higher close with the Dow soaring 97 points to 17,633. Nasdaq leaped 79 points to 4,846.
On the upside
Zacks Equity Research listed Himax Technologies (Nasdaq: HIMX) as one of five income stocks to buy now.
Ohr Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OHRP) reached an agreement on the Special Protocol Assessment with the Food and Drug Administration on the design of the Phase III trial for squalamine lactate opthalmic solution to treat neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
Rising gold prices lifted shares of Compania de Minas Buenaventura (NYSE: BVN).
On the downside
Conns (Nasdaq: CONN) disappointed with sharply lower fourth quarter earnings.
Puma Biotech (NYSE: PBYI) delayed filing the New Drug Application for its extended adjuvant breast cancer treatment neratinib.
Investors locked in profits on Celator Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CPXX).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 17 points to 2,055. Bitcoin fell $7 to $413.
