Stocks End on a Mixed Note; Dow Jones and S&P 500 Finish at 5-Year Highs

Stocks ended on a mixed note in trading today, with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 finishing the day in green, and the Nasdaq finishing the day in red. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 closed at 5-year highs.



The Dow Jones ended the day 0.34% higher at 14,018.70, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.16% higher at 1,519.43, and the S&P 500 ended the day 0.17% lower at 3,186.49.

All sectors in the S&P 500 except Technology ended the day in green. Financials led the gains in the S&P 500, ending the day 0.92% higher. Industrials also rose sharply, ending the day 0.67% higher. Consumer Cyclical sector ended the day 0.56% higher. Technology sector tumbled in trading today, ending the day 2.23% lower.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares led the losses in the Tech sector today, ending the day 2.52% lower at $467.84.

Other major movers in trading today were Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP), which ended the day 20.31% higher at $20.79, Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT), which ended the day 13.58% lower at $21.31, Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS), which ended the day 12.48% higher at $20.01, and Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), which ended the day 11.44% lower at $3.25.

President Obama will deliver his annual message to the nation today at 9 p.m. EST. The President will sketch out his policy goals for the second term. However, the speech is expected to put more emphasis on the looming threat of automatic spending cuts or sequester, which are expected to come into effect from March 1 in case lawmakers fail to find a middle ground over how to cuts nation’s fiscal deficit.

European markets ended mostly higher earlier today, with the EURO STOXX 50 Index closing 1% higher. The Nikkei 225 Index in Japan ended 1.94% higher overnight. Most other Asian markets remained closed on account of Lunar New Year.