Greek optimism lifts markets

The markets closed modestly higher with the Dow rising 28 points to 18,047 as optimism for a Greek debt deal grew. Nasdaq added 5 points to 4,899.

On the upside

Tile Shop Holdings (Nasdaq: TTS) reported higher fourth quarter earnings and revenue.

SandRidge Energy (Nasdaq: SD) appointed Steve Turk to the position of executive vice presider and chief operating officer.

Sphere 3D (Nasdaq: ANY) expects fourth quarter revenue to exceed previous guidance.

On the downside

VBL Therapeutics (Nasdaq: VBLT) reported disappointing results from Phase 2 studies of VB-201 in treating psoriasis and ulcerative colitis.

Falling gold prices weighed down shares of Harmony Gold (NYSE: HMY).

Moody's Investors Service affirmed its Caa1 rating for MagnaChip (NYSE: MX) with a negative outlook.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 4 on the NYSE while advancers edged out decliners by 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 added 3 points to 2100. Bitcoin rose $6 to $241.