Expansion of the nation’s service sector lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow adding 15 points to 16,737. Nasdaq rose 17 points to 4,251.

On the upside 

Shares of Anadigics (Nasdaq: ANAD) continued rising after a Seeking Alpha contributor wrote yesterday that the stock was significantly undervalued.

A Reuters report that China may eliminate export tariffs and quotas on rare earth metals lifted shares of Molycorp (Nasdaq: MCP).

Bloomberg reported that Medtronic was exploring a possible bid for Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN).

On the downside 

Shares of CareTrust REIT (Nasdaq: CTRE) fell after the Ensign Group (Nasdaq: ENSG) completed the spin-off CareTrust yesterday.

Shares of Zogenix (Nasdaq: ZGNX) extended its losses.

Transcept Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TSPT) fell a day after the company paid a special dividend of $1.33 per share.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 added 3 points to close at a record 1927. Bitcoin fell $21.13 or 3.30% to $640.73.