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 strong retail news 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:ZUMZ), +8.65%), Francesca’s (NASDAQ:FRAN, +4.81%), Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS, +3.96%), and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF, +2.68%) among the big gainers.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) 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:SPLS) 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:EBAY) 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:DWA): Up 8.43% ($1.49) to $19.17
- VMware (NYSE:VMW): Up 8.08% ($6.08) to $81.37
- Yelp (NYSE:YELP): Up 5.44% ($1.29) to $25.02
Three Down
- Qihoo (NYSE:QIHU): Down 5.68% ($1.78) to $29.56
- Molycorp (NYSE:MCP): Down 4.48% (28 cents) to $5.97
- Valero (NYSE:VLO): 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.
