A sharp jump in home prices sent the markets soaring during the midday with the Dow surging 152 points to 15,455. Nasdaq leaped 40 points to 3499.
On the upside
CapLease (NYSE: LSE) will be acquired by American Realty Capital Properties (Nasdaq: ARCP) in a deal valued at approximately $2.2 billion.
Shares of Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) and Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) rose after a Reuters survey indicated that the majority of European nations opposed plans to levy stiff tariffs on Chinese solar panels.
AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) will pay approximately $443 million to acquire Omthera Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OMTH).
On the downside
Real Goods Solar (Nasdaq: RSOL) will implement solar initiatives in Massachusetts through the Solarize Mass program but the stock price continued falling after announcing a $9.25 million private placement on Friday.
Shares of Amarin (Nasdaq: AMRN) fell after AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) announced plans to acquire rival Omthera (Nasdaq: OMTH).
A Seeking Alpha contributor suggested that investors sell American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC).
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 4 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index climbed 15 points to 1665.
