Upbeat Alcoa Forecast Boosts Markets

An upbeat forecast by Alcoa boosted the markets during the midday with the Dow climbing 71 points to 12,464. Nasdaq gained 25 points to 2702.

On the upside

Nexen (NYSE: NXY) announced the immediate resignation of chief executive Marvin Romanow and appointed chief financial officer Kevin Reinhart as interim chief executive.  

BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) forecast sharply higher 2012 earnings. 

Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) denied allegations of fraud and will seek legal action against individuals making inaccurate, defamatory and malicious accusations.

On the downside

Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) lowered its 2012 adjusted earnings guidance and announced the departure of chief financial officer Andrew Warren on March 16.  

Goodyear Tire (NYSE: GT) discussed challenging trends at the 2012 Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference. 

PHH (NYSE: PHH) will offer $150 million in convertible senior notes.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 9 points to 762.