A widening of China's trade surplus lifted the markets to a higher open with the Dow gaining 92 points to 12,485. Nasdaq climbed 30 points to 2706.

On the upside

Lululemon Athletica (Nasdaq: LULU) lifted its fourth quarter earnings and revenue guidance as the company increased inventory.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: REGN) reported fourth quarter Eylea sales of $24 million to $25 million, nearly five times the amount expected by Cowen & Co. analyst Phil Nadeau.

Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS) reported higher third quarter revenue that surpassed analyst expectations and forecast fourth quarter sales ahead of estimates.

On the downside

Health Management Associates (NYSE: HMA) raised its fourth quarter outlook but investors focused on a lawsuit filed by a former employee.

WebMD (Nasdaq: WBMD) ended discussions to sell itself to several potential suitors and announced the resignation of chief executive Wayne T. Gattinella.

Tiffany (NYSE: TIF) cut its full year sales outlook as holiday sales growth slowed.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 3 points to 753.