Existing home sales gained 5.7% in March to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 16 points to 18,070. Nasdaq added 4 points to 4,944.
On the upside
OncoSec Medical (Nasdaq: ONCS) presented positive clinical data for its melanoma therapy ImmunoPulse IL-12 at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting.
VMware (NYSE: VMW) reported better than expected first quarter earnings and announced plans to repurchase up to $1.2 billion in common shares.
Lexmark International (NYSE: LXK) will be acquired by Apex Technology for a premium of approximately $3.6 billion.
On the downside
Alere (NYSE: ALR) named Johathan Wygant to replace Carla Flakne as chief accounting officer.
The Federal Trade Commission argued in a district court to prevent the merger between Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) and Office Depot (Nasdaq: ODP).
CalAmp (Nasdaq: CAMP) reported lower fourth quarter earnings and forecast current quarter as well as full year results below expectations.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 slipped a point to 2,099. Bitcoin gained $5 to $434.
