The markets closed higher with the Dow gaining 86 points to 16,535 on upbeat earnings. Nasdaq climbed 29 points to 4,103.

On the upside 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Novavax’s (Nasdaq: NVAX) Phase 2 trial of its respiratory ailment vaccine for women was successful.

Sprint (NYSE: S) narrowed losses more than expected as fewer subscribers switched to a competitor.

Luminex (Nasdaq: LMNX) reversed year ago losses to post a stronger than expected profit for the first quarter as revenue rose.

On the downside 

ABB (NYSE: ABB) reported lower first quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of analyst expectations.

Prothena (Nasdaq: PRTA) released its presentation poster for the XIV International Symposium on Amyloidosis.

Ballard Power Systems (Nasdaq: BLDP) narrowed first quarter losses but revenue missed expectations.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 8 points to 1878. Bitcoin eased $1.23 or 0.28% to $439.73.