Closing Bell Report

Falling oil prices and better than expected economic growth in the first quarter lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow rising 52 points to 12,646.  Nasdaq gained 22 points to 2508.

On the upside

Wachovia Capital Markets analyst Jason Gere upgraded Elizabeth Arden (Nasdaq: RDEN) after the company announced a deal with license Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) to produce and distribute fragrances.

An analyst lifted the price target for Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq: COCO) as well as earnings estimates for the for-profit educator.

Falling oil prices lifted shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) .

On the downside

Alfacell's (Nasdaq: ACEL) cancer treatment Onconase failed a late stage clinincal trial.

Shares of Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) and Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq: ESLR) fell over news that the German government is exploring the possibility of lowering incentives for solar power.

Brean Murray Carret & Co. analyst Jonathan Aschoff initiated coverage of Sangamo Biosciences (Nasdaq: SGMO) with a Sell rating saying that two clinical studies of the company's diabetic neuropathy treatment will most likely fail.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq.  The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 7 points to 746.