The markets advanced during the midday with the Dow gaining 80 points to 13,315 over the possibility of a fiscal cliff deal. Nasdaq climbed 32 points to 3042. On the upside
Cowen said that Level 3 Communications (Nasdaq: LVLT) was well positioned for 2013. American Railcar Industries (Nasdaq: ARII) offered a premium of approximately $543 million to acquire Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX). A Seeking Alpha contributor expects cold weather boost natural gas prices. Shares of Magnum Hunter Resources (NYSE: MHR) rose. On the downside GT Advanced Technologies (Nasdaq: GTAT) forecast 2013 earnings that fell far short of analyst expectations.Concerns of more stringent gun control laws weighed down shares of Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE: RGR). FactSet Research (NYSE: FDS) reported higher first quarter earnings but the company forecast current quarter results below estimates. In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index climbed 11 points to 1441.
