Consumer prices rose less than expected to lift the markets to a higher close with the Dow climbing 66 points to 12,898. Nasdaq added 2 points to 2497.

On the upside

First quarter earnings for China Automotive Systems (Nasdaq: CAAS) more than doubled as sales surged.

An analyst expects a successful auction of contemporary art at Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) after fellow auction house Christie's reported $331.4 million from its auction last night.

Sony (NYSE: SNE) swung to a fourth quarter profit.

On the downside

The Food and Drug Administration placed a hold on Geron's (Nasdaq: GERN) spinal cord injury treatment GRNOPC1.

Hauppauge Digital (Nasdaq: HAUP) swung to a second quarter loss as sales plunged.

LCA Vision (NYSE: LCAV) slashed its dividend from 18 cents per share to 6 cents per share.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 3 to 2 on the NYSE while advancers barely edged out decliners by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks slipped a point to 736.