Upbeat jobless claims data lifted the markets to a higher close with Dow climbing 82 points to 17,924. Nasdaq gained 25 points to 4,945.

On the upside

The Wall Street Journal reported that Yelp (NYSE: YELP) was exploring a possible sale of the company.

SodaStream International (NYSE: SODA) reported lower first quarter earnings but the results surpassed analyst expectations by a wide margin.

SunEdison (Nasdaq: SUNE) narrowed losses for the first quarter.

On the downside

Sequenom (Nasdaq: SQNM) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the first quarter but revenue fell short of analyst estimates prompting a downgrade.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SCMP) reported higher first quarter earnings but revenue missed expectations.

Shares of PlasmaTech Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PTBI) continued dropping.
 
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 7 points to 2088. Bitcoin added $6 to $237.