The markets opened higher as investors mulled over a strong reading on the service sector of the U.S. economy. The Dow rose 72 points to 12,286 while Nasdaq surged 16 points to 2276.

On the upside

Discount retailer Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) posted earnings that beat estimates while meeting revenue goals.

Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) raised its 1st quarter guidance due to strong demand supported by higher production capacity.

Shares of Packeteer (Nasdaq: PKTR) surged after the developer of bandwidth management systems received a $200 million cash offer from hedge fund Elliott Associates.

On the downside

Trump Entertainment Resorts (Nasdaq: TRMP) posted a wider 4th quarter loss due to goodwill and other asset impairment charges.

Shares of Logility (Nasdaq: LGTY) tumbled after the supply chain software provider offered a preliminary look at declining revenues and earnings for the 1st quarter.

Biotechnology research firm PDL BioPharma (Nasdaq: PDLI) abandoned efforts to sell itself and planned to cut half of its staff. Analysts promptly downgraded the stock.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 5 points to 686.