Stocks closed modestly higher on Thursday, with Oracle's impressive numbers helping the Nasdaq, while Bear Stearns reported the first quarterly loss in the company's history.

Shares of MBIA (MBI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) plunged to a 13-year low, after the company disclosed that it has a massive $8.14 billion of exposure to CDO-squared transactions (read more).

Bear Stearns (BSC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) Q4 loss was mainly due to a $1.9 billion mortgage related write-down (read more).

ConAgra Foods (CAG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported a 15% rise in Q2 profit, and raised its full-year 2008 outlook (read more).

Boeing (BA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) signed a 10-year deal, worth more than $1 billion, with India's Hindustan Aeronautics (read more).

FedEx (FDX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported lower Q2 profit, mainly due to rising fuel costs and a slowing economy (read more).

Shares of Oracle (ORCL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) rose more than 6% after the company posted a 35% jump in second quarter profit (read more).

Nike (NKE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) gained more than 3% after reporting a 10% rise in Q2 profit (read more).