First time applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 44 points to 10,542. Nasdaq added 4 points to 2268.

On the upside

Citrix (Nasdaq: CTXS) reported higher second quarter earnings as revenue rose and forecast third quarter results ahead of expectations.

Entropic Communications (Nasdaq: ENTR) swung to a second quarter profit prompting an upgrade.

Second quarter earnings more than tripled for Interpublic (NYSE: IPG) as revenue climbed while expenses fell.

On the downside

Vistaprint (Nasdaq: VPRT) reported lower fourth quarter earnings and offered a disappointing first quarter outlook.

First quarter earnings for Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) more than doubled but revenue fell short and the company forecast current quarter results below expectations prompting a downgrade.

Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) blamed continued economic weakness for lowering its second quarter revenue guidance.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 3 points to 653.