First time applications for unemployment benefits fell last week but the nation's trade deficit widened. The markets opened mixed with the Dow rising 25 points to 19,858 while Nasdaq eased a fraction to 5,437.
On the upside
A patient case study a Phase 1 clinical trial of Fortress Biotech's (Nasdaq: FBIO) MB-101 to treat glioblastoma will be published in the December 29 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Cesca Therapeutics (Nasdaq: KOOL) shareholder Boyalife acquired more than 6 million shares of company stock.
Prima BioMed (Nasdaq: PBMD) reported upbeat interim data for its TACTI-mel clinical program for IMP321 in unresectable or metastatic melanoma patients.
On the downside
The Food and Drug Administration issued a Complete Response Letter to Cempra (Nasdaq: CEMP) for oral and intravenous solithromycin to treat community-acquired bacterial pneumonia in adults.
Investors locked in profits on Galena Biopharma (Nasdaq: GALE).
Profit taking weighed down shares of Dataram (Nasdaq: DRAM).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index added a point to 2,251. Bitcoin eased $1 to $954.
