On The Fly: Top stock stories for Monday

Stocks opened in positive territory and remained there throughout the day, finishing at fresh record highs. Oil prices were sharply higher amid concerns of Iraqi military actions in the oil rich country, closing nearly 1% higher and above $51 a barrel. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Empire State manufacturing index headline figure hit an 8-year high of 30.2, though some component data was softer. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Nordstrom (JWN) slid over 5% after the company announced that members of the Nordstrom family have suspended active exploration of the possibility of proposing a transaction to take the company private for the rest of the year. However, they made clear that they intend to pick up their efforts to explore the possibility of making a going private proposal after the conclusion of the holiday season... Shares of Apple (AAPL) were in focus after VirnetX (VHC) announced that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a final judgment in the company's patent dispute with Apple, ruling in favor of VirnetX. As part of the ruling, Apple was ordered to pay $439.7M to VirnetX for infringing on four patented technologies that were apparently used in FaceTime and other iOS apps. Apple later told the Verge that it plans to appeal the ruling... Meanwhile, Allergan (AGN) shares fell 3.5% after a federal circuit judge invalidated the company's patents for Restasis, saying that the court has "serious concerns about the legitimacy of the tactic" Allergan and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe employed previously. Allergan said in response that it was "disappointed" by the decision and that it plans to appeal the ruling. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Exelixis (EXEL), which rose 17% after receiving priority review from the FDA for a treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. Additionally, Exelixis announced this morning that Cabometyx met the primary goal of overall survival in a global Phase 3 Celestial trial with partner Ipsen (IPSEY). Also higher was Sohu.com (SOHU), which gained 8.6% after subsidiary Sogou Inc. filed a registration statement for an initial public offering. MACOM (MTSI) was among the noteworthy losers, falling 12% after Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy, citing persistent China weakness, "poor" capital management and a lack of confidence in the company's management. Also lower was TG Therapeutics (TGTX), which slipped nearly 16% after the FDA confirmed that accelerated approval of TG-1101, the company's anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, based on Overall Response Rate would be a review issue. INDEXES: The Dow rose 85.24, or 0.37%, to 22,956.96, the Nasdaq gained 18.20, or 0.28%, to 6,624.00, and the S&P 500 advanced 4.47, or 0.18%, to 2,557.64.