The markets opened higher with the Dow climbing 87 points to 12,457 after the Group of Eight affirmed its commitment to stabilizing the European economy. Nasdaq soared 33 points to 2811.

On the upside

Eaton (NYSE: ETN) will pay approximately $11.8 billion in cash and stock to acquire Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE).

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) will sell its money losing children's apparel unit 77kids.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: KERX) announced a poster presentation for Zerenex at the 49th ERA-EDTA Congress.

On the downside

Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) tumbled below its IPO price of $38 on its second day of trading.

Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) reported higher first quarter earnings as revenue rose but the home improvement retailer trimmed its full year outlook.

Facebook's (Nasdaq: FB) falling stock price dragged down Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks rose 3 points to 750.