Dow Jones Industrial Average index opened at 12,215 and touched an intraday low of 12,176 and high of 12,382.  At 12.18 p.m. ET, DJIA was 50 points higher at 12,266. NASDAQ Composite index touched an intraday high of 2279 and a low of 2260.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals was among major gainers after the company announced encouraging results for their experimental hepatitis C medicine. The stock is currently trading 24% higher compared to Friday's close.

MI Developments Inc. was up by 14.3% at 12.02 p.m. ET. The stock touched an intraday high of $30.26 and an intraday low of $25.26. The trading volume was almost 3 times compared to average volume.

Micron Technology Inc. was up by 9.16%. The stock touched an intraday high of $6.00 and an intraday low of $5.46.

Giant Interactive Group was among major gainers. The stock was trading with a gain of over eight per cent at 12.04 p.m. ET. The stock has touched a 52-week high of $20.46 and a 52-week low of $9.06.

Illinois-based Fortune Brands Inc. was up by 7.7% after the company lost an auction for Absolut Vodka maker Vin & Sprit.  Fortune’s offer was outbid by French company Pernod Ricard. Pernod’s winning bid valued Absolut Vodka maker at US $8.9 billion. The company also announced buyback plans of up to 15 million shares.