Drop In Jobless Claims Lifts Markets To Higher Close

A greater than expected drop in jobless claims lifted the markets to a modestly higher close with the Dow rising 10 points to 11,357. Nasdaq climbed 15 points to 2578.

On the upside

Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) widened third quarter losses as sales dropped but the results were better than expected.

Solutia (NYSE: SOA) forecast 2011 results ahead of analyst expectations. 

Second quarter earnings surged for Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) as sales climbed.

On the downside

Cerus (Nasdaq: CERS) priced its offering of more than 7.3 million units at $2.85 per unit.

A123 (Nasdaq: AONE) widened third quarter losses more than expected.

Net 1 (Nasdaq: UEPS) disappointed with sharply lower first quarter earnings as revenue fell.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 8 points to 734.