Falling jobless claims lifted the markets to a modestly higher close with the Dow rising 45 points to 11,868. Nasdaq edged up a point to 2541.

On the upside

Acadia Healthcare (Nasdaq: ACHC) priced its public offering of more than 8 million common shares at $7.50 per share.

Russian Standard will increase its stake in Central European Distribution (Nasdaq: CEDC) from approximately 9.9% to 30%.

Shares of Newcastle Investment (NYSE: NCT) continued rising after announcing a mortgage servicing rights deal with Nationstar Mortgage late Tuesday.

On the downside

Germany's Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care said that InterMune's (Nasdaq: ITMN) lung disease treatment Esbriet provided little to no additional benefit to patients.

Athenahealth (Nasdaq: ATHN) forecast 2012 results well below analyst expectations.

Shares of Penn Virginia (NYSE: PVA) continued falling after slashing its fourth quarter production guidance on Tuesday.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 7 points to 716.