Comments by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen sparked optimism that rate increases would be delayed until next year. The markets surged at the open with the Dow soaring 142 points to 16,156. Nasdaq leaped 88 points to 4,356.
On the upside
Fourth quarter earnings slipped for Akamai Technologies (Nasdaq: AKAM) but revenue rose to beat expectations.
Empire District Electric Company (NYSE: EDE) will be acquired by Alongonquin Power & Utilities for a premium of approximately $2.4 billion in cash.
Shares of Energy Transfer Equity (NYSE: ETE) continued climbing.
On the downside
SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY) swung to a profit for the fourth quarto but the company forecast a larger than expected loss for the current quarter.
KapStone Paper and Packaging (NYSE: KS) disappointed with sharply lower fourth quarter earnings that fell far short of expectations.
Medidata Solutions (Nasdaq: MDSO) reported higher fourth quarter earnings and revenue but the company forecast 2016 results below estimates.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 soared 20 points to 1,873. Bitcoin climbed $7 to $383.
