Strong job growth lifted the markets to a sharply high close with the Dow leaping 249 points to 11,255. Nasdaq soared 51 points to 2549.
On the upside
Mercer Insurance Group (Nasdaq: MIGP) will be acquired by United Fire & Casualty for approximately $191 million in cash.
BioScrip (Nasdaq: BIOS) named former Omnicare executive David W. Froesel, Jr. to the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.
Motorola (NYSE: MOT) subsidiary Motorola Mobility will acquire 4Home, a software and services platform firm that connects home services through its ControlPoint solution.
On the downside
Shares of Mecox (Nasdaq: MCOX) continued falling after reporting lower sales at its company run stores yesterday.
Novatel Wireless (Nasdaq: NVTL) coompleted its acquisition of privately held asset management solution firm Enfora.
Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI) disappointed with lower fourth quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations and forecast 2011 results below estimates.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks surged 16 points to 743.
