The markets closed sharply higher with the Dow surging 113 points to 17,904 ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting tomorrow. Nasdaq climbed 25 points to 5,055.

On the upside

Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) will present at the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology Annual Meeting next week.

Rising crude oil prices lifted shares of Petrobras (NYSE: PBR).

Adams Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ADMS) reported additional upbeat findings from its Phase2/3 study of ADS-5102 to treat levodopa-induced dyskinesia.
 
On the downside

Profit taking weighed down shares of Advaxis (Nasdaq: ADXS).

Comverse (Nasdaq: CNSI) widened first quarter losses more than expected as revenue fell.

Robert W. Baird downgraded Methode Electronics (NYSE: MEI) from an Outperform rating to a Neutral rating.
 
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 11 points to 2096. Bitcoin climbed $9 to $245.