Upbeat Earnings Lift Markets

Upbeat earnings lifted the markets during the midday with the Dow climbing 120 points to 12,506. Nasdaq soared 41 points to 2806.

On the upside

Fisker Automotive selected Clean Diesel Technologies (Nasdaq: CDTI) to supply catalyst technology for the hybrid Karma luxury sedan.

PetroQuest Energy (NYSE: PQ) announced a discovery at its La Cantera Prospect in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana prompting an upgrade.

Kandi Technologies (Nasdaq: KNDI) announced a program to repurchase up to $5 million worth of common stock.

On the downside

The International Trade Commission ruled yesterday that Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) did not infringe on Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) patents but Kodak stock continued to drop.

Brown & Brown (NYSE: BRO) disappointed with lower second quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations.

McMoRan Exploration (NYSE: MMR) widened second quarter losses more than expected as expenses climbed.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 9 points to 825.