Global manufacturing activity increased to lift the markets to a higher open with the Dow soaring 138 points to 12,771. Nasdaq gained 20 points to 2834.

On the upside

Seagate Technology (Nasdaq: STX) reported second quarter earnings that more than tripled to surpass analyst expectations by a wide margin.

Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN) named John H. Johnson of Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SVNT) to the position of president and chief executive officer.

Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq: COCO) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the second quarter and forecast current quarter results ahead of estimates.

On the downside

Fourth quarter earnings fell sharply for Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) as expenses soared, revenue missed expectations by a wide margin and the online retailer forecast disappointing first quarter results.

Quicksilver Resources (NYSE: KWK) will spend approximately $370 million for drilling and completion and related oil and gas activities in 2012.

C. H. Robinson Worldwide (Nasdaq: CHRW) reported higher fourth quarter earnings but the results fell short of expectations as expenses climbed.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 7 to 1 on the NYSE and by 3 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 9 points to 801.