After two weeks of sharp sell-offs, bargain hunters stepped in to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow soaring 139 points to 16,127. Nasdaq climbed 38 points to 4,527.
On the upside
Aeterna Zentaris (Nasdaq: AEZS) concluded a successful meeting of the clinical investigators for the confirmatory Phase 3 trial of Macrilen to evaluate adult growth hormone deficiency.
Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) will pay a premium of approximately $2.67 billion in stock to acquire Progressive Waste Solutions (NYSE: BIN).
Rouse Properties (NYSE: RSE) received an unsolicited acquisition offer from Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) of a premium of $17.00 per share in cash.
On the downside
Hortonworks (Nasdaq: HDP) will release fourth quarter and full year results after market close on February 10, 2016.
Retreating gold prices weighed down shares of Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY).
Shares of California Resources (NYSE: CRC) slipped as crude oil prices fell.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 11 points to 1,891. Bitcoin eased a fraction to $385.
