A drop in first time applications for unemployment benefits lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow rising 44 points to 11,825. Nasdaq lost 10 points to 2611.

On the upside

A Seeking Alpha article listed Power-One (Nasdaq: PWER) as one of ten oversold stocks with solid operating margins.

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) closed private offerings on $4 billion in notes.

First quarter earnings slipped for Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) but the results topped expectations and forecast current quarter revenue ahead of estimates.

On the downside

Fourth quarter earnings for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) nearly tripled but revenue fell short of analyst expectations.

Melco Crown Entertainment (Nasdaq: MPEL) reported sharply higher third quarter earnings but the results missed analyst estimates.

Radian (NYSE: RDN) reported a modest slip in primary delinquent mortgages but the stock price fell.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 3 points to 722.