A 0.6% increase in wholesale inventories lifted the markets higher during the midday with the Dow rising 24 points to 12,485. Nasdaq gained 11 points to 2842.

On the upside

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn acquired additional shares of Navistar International (NYSE: NAV) to increase his stake to 11.87%.

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of Neonode (Nasdaq: NEON) with a Buy rating.

Shares of Zalicus (Nasdaq: ZLCS) continued climbing after a Seeking Alpha contributor wrote yesterday that the company was one of five biotechnology stocks poised for growth.

On the downside

TheStreet Ratings affirmed its Hold rating on US Steel (NYSE: X).

TheStreet Ratings reiterated its Hold with a ratings score of C on Exelon (NYSE: EXC).

Shares of Quicksilver Resources (NYSE: KWK) continued falling after TheStreet Ratings downgraded the company to a Sell rating yesterday.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 3 points to 763.