Crude oil prices rose above $50 per barrel to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 60 points to 17,981. Nasdaq added 2 points to 4,970.

On the upside

Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH) will acquire LDR (Nasdaq: LDRH) in an all cash deal valued at approximately $1 billion.

Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SRPT) will submit dystrophin data to the Food and Drug Administration ahead of clinical reviews for accelerated approval of eteplirsen to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

China Auto Logistics (Nasdaq: CALI) sold its Zhonghe subsidiary to Wuxi Huitong Automobile Sales and Services for approximately $62.3 million.

On the downside

Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: VRX) fell to a greater than expected loss for the first quarter prompting the company to cut its full year forecast.

DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) defaulted on three loans totaling $213.7 million.

Vascular Biogenics (Nasdaq: VBLT) announced a registered direct offering.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 2 on the NYSE while decliners edged out advancers by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 4 points to 2,114. Bitcoin added $3 to $581.