The markets opened higher on positive earnings news and a rebound in New York area manufacturing. The Dow rose 68 points to 12,370 while Nasdaq climbed 8 points to 2284.

On the upside

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) posted higher profits due to aggressive cost-cutting and a diverse product mix that absorbed a decline in anemia drug sales.

Adtran (Nasdaq: ADTN) posted higher revenues and earnings citing strong demand for broadband access equipment.

China-based ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) signed a 6-year contract to supply solar wafers to Ningbo Solar Electric Power and Eoplly New Energy Technology.

On the downside

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) agreed to combine in a $17 billion stock-swap deal that would create the world's biggest carrier keeping the Delta brand. No regulatory hurdles were expected.

Wireless modem maker Novatel Wireless (Nasdaq: NVTL) lowered its forecast for the current quarter due to delayed purchases by a major European carrier.

Shares of Emulex (NYSE: ELX) fell after an analyst downgraded the storage network solution provider.

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 4 points to 690.