Markets soar as trade deficit narrows

The markets surged to open sharply higher with the Dow soaring 140 points to 18,152 as the nation's trade deficit narrowed. Nasdaq climbed 32 points to 5,109.

On the upside

BioLife Solutions (Nasdaq: BLFS) reported new groups using the company's bioprevservation media products.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Synchronoss Technologies (Nasdaq: SNCR) was exploring a possible sale of the company for up to $2 billion.

Tang Capital Management's Kevin Tang bought 150,000 shares of Heron Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HRTX).

On the downside

Clean Diesel Technologies (Nasdaq: CDTI) announced a public offering of approximately 2.5 million common units at the discounted price of $2.05 per unit.

Vera Bradley (Nasdaq: VRA) fell to a greater than expected loss for the first quarter as revenue slipped and the company forecast current quarter results below estimates.

FCStone Merchant Services will originate and supply Gevo (Nasdaq: GEVO) with corn for a plant in Luverne.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 9 to 7 on the NYSE while advancers edged out decliners by 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 lost 9 points to 2118. Bitcoin held steady at $227.