Higher Close As Unemployment Rate Drops

The markets closed higher with the Dow climbing 56 points to 12,376 despite record crude oil prices as investors welcomed a drop in the nation's unemployment rate. Nasdaq rose 8 points to 2789.

On the upside

China's Ministry of Science and Technology presented UTStarcom (Nasdaq: UTSI) with the Innovation Award during the China Content Broadcasting Network exhibition.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a positive review of Optimer Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: OPTR) antibiotic fidaxomicin used for treating Clostridium difficile infections.

President Barack Obama and other government officials visited a UPS shipping facility where a liquefied natural gas truck powered by Westport HD (Nasdaq: WPRT) was featured.

On the downside

First quarter earnings plunged for Xyratex (Nasdaq: XRTX) as revenue fell short of expectations and the company warned of losses for the second quarter.

KV Pharmaceutical (NYSE: KVA) slashed the price of its preterm labor drug Makena by 55% after the Food and Drug Administration said that it would not take action against pharmacies that compounded generic versions of the medication.

Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq: ASTI) will scale back rooftop solar installations to focus on thin-film solar modules.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 3 points to 846.