Upbeat Earnings Lift Markets To Higher Open

Upbeat earnings lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow climbing 37 points to 11,242. Nasdaq added a point to 2531.

On the upside

Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) impressed with first quarter earnings that more than doubled to beat analyst expectations by a wide margin prompting the appliance maker to raise its 2010 outlook.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the first quarter and lifted its full year guidance.

Hertz Global (NYSE: HTZ) will pay approximately $1.17 billion in cash and stock to acquire competitor Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE: DTG) .

On the downside

Standpoint Research cited valuation concerns for downgrading Dell (Nasdaq: DELL).

Analysts downgraded Nokia (NYSE: NOK) after the mobile device maker reported disappointing earnings last week.

PMI (NYSE: PMI) widened first quarter losses as revenue tumbled.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 3 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks edged up a point to 743.