The markets turned positive during the midday with the Dow rising 22 points to 12,040 even as oil prices increased. Nasdaq added a point to 2685.
On the upside
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the first quarter as customer payment improved.
Western Refining (NYSE: WNR) will present at Barclays Capital 2011 High Yield Bond and Syndicated Loan Conference on Thursday March 24 in Orlando, Florida.
Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) adopted a Stockholder Rights Plan.
On the downside
Seeking Alpha contributor Ian Bezek questioned Yongye International's (Nasdaq: YONG) financial report.
Prana Biotechnology (Nasdaq: PRAN) announced a private placement of stocks and warrants to raise approximately $6.12 million.
Duoyuan Global Water (NYSE: DGW) reported higher fourth quarter earnings but margins fell.
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by 9 to 7 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a fraction to 807.
