The markets closed sharply higher with the Dow soaring 106 points to 12,985 after lawmakers indicated that they were closer to a compromise deal to avert the fiscal cliff. Nasdaq climbed 23 points to 2991. On the upside
Gynecologic Oncology published positive results from a clinical study of Vermillion's (Nasdaq: VRML) ovarian cancer test OVA1. Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of Idenix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IDIX) with a Buy rating. Danfoss offered a premium of $49 per share to acquire the remaining 24% of Sauer-Danfoss (NYSE: SHS) that the industrial group does not already own. On the downside Universal Technical Institute (NYSE: UTI) warned of flat or lower new student enrollments in 2013. Investors locked in profits on Mellanox Technologies (Nasdaq: MLNX), whose stock price rose Monday after TheStreet affirmed its Buy rating on the company. The Food and Drug Administration accepted Aveo Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: AVEO) new drug application for its advanced renal cell carcinoma treatment tivozanib but the stock price fell. In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 5 points to 813.