Rising crude oil prices lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 36 points to 20,874. Nasdaq added 3 points to 5,860.

On the upside

Arena Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ARNA) reversed year ago losses to post a stronger than expected profit for the fourth quarter.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CPRX) reported positive results from the investigator-sponsored trial of Firdapse to treat myasthenia gravis patients with anit-MuSK antibodies.

MSCI (NYSE: MSCI) rejected an acquisition offer from S&P Global saying that the bid was too low.

On the downside

Rubicon Project (NYSE: RUBI) fell to a loss for the fourth quarter.

NeoPhotonics (Nasdaq: NPTN) forecast first quarter results that fell short of analyst expectations.

Profit taking weighed down shares of Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index gained 5 points to 2,370. Bitcoin rose $2 to $1,239.