An upbeat jobs report lifted the markets to a modestly higher close with the Dow gaining 27 points to 13,595. Nasdaq climbed 16 points to 2810.

On the upside

Shares of Neutral Tandem (Nasdaq: TNDM) surged on its first day of trading.

Fewer costs and higher revenue helped Radisys (Nasdaq: RSYS) narrow third quarter losses. The embedded computer systems company forecast fourth quarter results ahead of expectations.

A special committee composed of members of WellCare Health Plans' (NYSE: WCG) Board of Directors will review issues being investigated by federal and state agencies.

On the downside

Moody's data indicated that credit derivative traders are treating Ambac Financial's (NYSE: ABK) bonds as junk status despite the bond insurer's "Aa1" rating.

Oil States International (NYSE: OIS) disappointed with third quarter earnings that fell short of expectations and forecast fourth quarter results below estimates.

Insight Enterprises (NYSE: NSIT) blamed higher costs for a sharp drop in third quarter earnings.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 10 to 9 on the NYSE while decliners barely edged out advancers by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 3 points to 798.