A strong rebound in housing starts boosted the markets to a higher close with the Dow gaining 80 points to 16,919. Nasdaq climbed 19 points to 4527.

On the upside 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Allergan (NYSE: AGN) approached Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP) for a possible acquisition.

A district court ruled in favor of DepoMed (Nasdaq: DEPO) in its patent infringement suit against Actavis.

Shares of Taser International (Nasdaq: TASR) soared again after another fatal officer involved shooting.

American Woodmark (Nasdaq: AMWD) reported higher first quarter earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations.

On the downside 

Lannett (NYSE: LCI) reported sharply higher preliminary fourth quarter earnings and revenue.

Shares of Sprint (NYSE: S) fell after announcing a cheaper pricing plan. 

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 9 points to 1981. Bitcoin climbed $29 to $480.