A drop in first time applications for unemployment benefits lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 26 points to 16,366. Nasdaq added 4 points to 4328. 

On the upside 

Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG) widened fourth quarter losses but revenue soared and the company expects orders to surge nearly fourfold in 2014.

Venaxis (Nasdaq: APPY) reported positive results from a study of its APPY1 Test to identify patients who are at low risk for appendicitis.

Hanwha Solar (Nasdaq: HSOL) narrowed fourth quarter losses as revenue climbed.

On the downside

Methode Electronics (NYSE: MEI) reported higher third quarter earnings and revenue but the stock price fell. 

A Seeking Alpha contributor wrote that CytRx (Nasdaq: CYTR) management was directly involved in reviewing and editing paid promotional articles that promoted the company.

ModusLink Global Solutions (Nasdaq: MLNK) priced its offering of $90 million in convertible senior notes.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 added 2 points to 1870. Bitcoin rose $5.52 or 0.87% to $637.82.