A strong increase in existing home sales boosted the markets to a higher close with Dow climbing 88 points to 18,038. Nasdaq gained 21 points to 5,035.

On the upside

Shares of Gevo (Nasdaq: GEVO) soared after completing a 1-for-15 reverse stock split after market close on Monday.

Carlson Capital acquired a 5.3% stake in Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE: VSI).

EMC (NYSE: EMC) reported lower first quarter earnings due to the strong dollar but impressive results by subsidiary VMware (NYSE: VMW) lifted the stock price.

On the downside

Investors locked in profits on Celladon (Nasdaq: CLDN).

Former BIOLASE (Nasdaq: BIOL) chairman and chief executive Federico Pignatelli withdrew his name as a nominee for the board of directors.

DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) reported higher second quarter earnings and revenue but the stock price fell over margin concerns.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 5 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 10 points to 2107. Bitcoin added $1 to $234.