The markets traded mixed during the midday with the Dow gaining 61 points to 11,832 as the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators climbed more than expected while Congress continued to wrestle with the nation's deficit. Nasdaq lost 5 points to 2582.
On the upside
Dahlman Rose upgraded American Airlines parent AMR (NYSE: AMR) to a Hold rating from a Sell rating.
Shares of Mattress Firm Holding (Nasdaq: MFRM) surged on its first trading day.
Mentor Graphics (Nasdaq: MENT) reported sharply higher third quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.
On the downside
Ann (NYSE: ANN) reported higher third quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates but same store sales at its Ann Taylor stores posted only a modest 2.5% increase.
MoneyGram (NYSE: MGI) priced its secondary offering of 9.3 million common shares at the discounted price of $16.25 per share.
Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Exco Resources (NYSE: XCO) to a Hold rating from a Buy rating.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added a point to 720.
