The markets traded higher during the midday with the Dow rising 19 points to 20,877. Nasdaq gained 17 points to 5,855.
The National Labor Relations Board ruled that Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama violated the rights of three paint shop employees last year by firing them. The workers walked off their jobs before the end of their shift. A supervisor had announced that the work schedule had changed but the posted schedule had not been updated.
Facebook partnered with Major League Soccer and Univision to begin live streaming soccer games on the Univision Desportes' Facebook page. The first game to be streamed will be on Saturday, March 18 and will only be available in the U.S. The games will be interactive with polls and questions for fan participation.
Southwest Airlines warned that first quarter operating unit revenue would fall more than expected to between 2%-3%. The nation's fourth largest airline by passenger traffic cited weakness in last-minute flight bookings in February for the shortfall. The company originally forecast flat to a 1% decline in operating unit revenue.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index gained 5 points to 2,370. Bitcoin leaped $58 to $1,239.
