Markets Close Modestly Higher Over Upbeat Earnings

Upbeat earnings lifted the markets to a modestly higher close with the Dow rising 38 points to 11,146.  Nasdaq added 2 points to 2459.

On the upside

Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel said that sales at Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) will increase due to improving store traffic.

W. R. Grace (NYSE: GRA) reported higher third quarter earnings and .

Diego Della Valle, founder and chief executive of Italian luxury shoe company Tod's, increased his stake in Saks (NYSE: SKS) to 19.05% from 11.2%.

On the downside

Terex (NYSE: TEX) disappointed with a much larger than expected loss for the third quarter prompting a downgrade.

While third quarter earnings climbed for TCF Financial (NYSE: TCB), the results fell short of analyst expectations.

Janus Capital Group (NYSE: JNS) reported higher third quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates but long-term net outflows surged to $2.9 billion.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 10 to 9 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 3 points to 698.