The markets opened higher with the Dow gaining 53 points to 15,574 as the private employers added more jobs than expected in July. Nasdaq climbed 17 points to 3633.
On the upside
SodaStream (Nasdaq: SODA) reported higher second quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations as revenue climbed.
Cubist Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CBST) will pay a premium of approximately $1.6 billion to acquire Trius Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TSRX) and Optimer Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OPTR).
Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) reported lower first quarter earnings but the results were better than expected.
On the downside
Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) fell to a loss for the second quarter as revenue fell short of expectations.
BMO Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley both downgraded Mosaic (NYSE: MOS) over pricing concerns.
UBS downgraded Potash (NYSE: POT) from a Buy rating to a Neutral rating.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE while advancers outpaced decliners by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 5 points to 1691.
