Rising gasoline prices lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow climbing 94 points to 24,357. Nasdaq gained 55 points to 7265.

On the upside

National CineMedia (Nasdaq: NCMI) reported a smaller than expected loss for the first quarter.

Shares of Turtle Beach (Nasdaq: HEAR) rose for the fourth day.

Gannett (NYSE: GCI) narrowed losses for the first quarter.

On the downside

Moody's Investors Service has placed International Flavors & Fragrances' (NYSE: IFF) ratings on review for a possible downgrade after the company announced that it will acquire Frutarom in a deal valued at approximately $7.1 billion in cash and stock.

Profit taking weighed down shares of Intersect ENT (Nasdaq: XENT).

Shares of Sears Holdings (Nasdaq: SHLD) tumbled after Deutsche Bank said that there was limited upside to department store stocks.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 3 to 2 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 gained 9 points to 2,672. Bitcoin dropped $72 to $9,429.