Upbeat Earnings Lifts Markets Modestly Higher

Upbeat earnings lifted the markets to a modestly higher close with the Dow adding 5 points to 8131. Nasdaq rose 2 points to 1673.

On the upside

Level 3 Communications (NYSE: LVLT) closed its $220 million senior secured term loan.

Although first quarter earnings for Tempur-Pedic International (NYSE: TPX) slipped, the results topped analyst estimates.

Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI) reported higher first quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.

On the downside

Student lender Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM) sold $1.8 billion worth of 7.34-year notes.

Citigroup (NYSE: C) narrowed first quarter losses to beat estimates but the stock price fell as investors locked in profits.

Although Credit Suisse analyst Christopher Ceraso tripled his price target for Ford (NYSE: F), he said that the stock remains an unattractive buy.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 5 points to 479.