The nation's employers added more jobs than expected in November to lift the markets to a sharply higher open with the Dow soaring 147 points to 15,968. Nasdaq gained 19 points to 4052.

On the upside

Ballard Power Systems (Nasdaq: BLDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with European bus manufacturer Van Hool to develop and deploy zero emission fuel cell buses.

Shares of Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) rose for the third day.

A Mayo Clinic study determined that Geron's (Nasdaq: GERN) imetelstat improved the condition of bone marrow cancer patients.

On the downside

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (Nasdaq: ULTA) reported higher third quarter earnings but the results fell short of expectations and the company forecast current quarter earnings below estimates.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) reported sharply lower third quarter earnings as revenue fell and forecast current quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations.

Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) widened losses more than expected for the third quarter, forecast disappointing current quarter results and announced plans to exit the Canadian market.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 4 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 climbed 16 points to 1801. Bitcoin fell $70.00 or 6.30% to $1,041.00.