Unemployment applications fall, markets trade higher

The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow gaining 55 points to 16,795 as first time applications for unemployment benefits fell. Nasdaq climbed 23 points to 4,913.

On the upside

TG Therapeutics (Nasdaq: TGTX) announced a special protocol agreement with the Food and Drug Administration for the design of a Phase 3 clinical trial for TG-1101 in combination with TGR-1202 to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Vaalco Energy (NYSE: EGY) brought the North Tchibala 1-H well online with a production rate of more than 3,000 gross barrels of oil per day.

Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) selected Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) as a preferred provider to help Amazon Webstore merchants grow their online business.

On the downside

CLARCOR (NYSE: CLC) disappointed with lower third quarter earnings and revenue that missed analyst expectations prompting the company to lower its full year outlook.

Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW) warned that third quarter revenue would fall short of expectations.

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) reported lower first quarter earnings and revenue.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 6 points to 2,001. Bitcoin rose $5 to $233.