The markets manged to end in the black again on Wednesday, moving the Dow ahead for a ninth straight day as the S&P once again started working towards a new high.
When all was said and done, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up fractionally to a new high of 14,455.28, while the S&P 500 moved up 0.13% to 1,554.52, and the Nasdaq gained 0.09% to close at 3,245.12.
Helping that upwards movement was from the Commerce Department in the form a report showing a 1.1% increase in February sales. That drove the sector higher, with Zumiez (NASDAQ:), +8.65%), Francesca’s (NASDAQ:, +4.81%), Michael Kors (NYSE:, +3.96%), and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:, +2.68%) among the big gainers.
(NASDAQ:) and Netflix (NASDAQ:) announced a partnership that will allow U.S. Netflix users to share viewing habits with their friends on Facebook — a service already available in other markets. The news sent Netflix shares ahead over 5% on the news, while FB shares fell just under 3% by the close.
Staples (NASDAQ:) continued a recent run after announcing earnings last week, rising just over 4% on the day and bringing its gained to the double-digits for the last week. On the other side of things, eBay (NASDAQ:) continued a recent slump, dropping almost 4% on no particular news. Ebay is down just under 11% over the last month.
Three Up
- Dreamworks (NASDAQ:): Up 8.43% ($1.49) to $19.17
- VMware (NYSE:): Up 8.08% ($6.08) to $81.37
- Yelp (NYSE:): Up 5.44% ($1.29) to $25.02
Three Down
- Qihoo (NYSE:): Down 5.68% ($1.78) to $29.56
- Molycorp (NYSE:): Down 4.48% (28 cents) to $5.97
- Valero (NYSE:): Down 4.68% ($2.13) to $43.42
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing he does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
