Industrials lead stocks to close slightly higher

12 hrs.

JeeYeon Park , CNBC

Stocks ended modestly higher in thin trading Wednesday, recovering losses from the last two sessions, after Dow component?Alcoa?kicked off the fourth-quarter earnings season on a positive note.?

The?Dow Jones Industrial Average?rose 61.66 points, or 0.46 percent, to close at 13,390.51, led by?Boeing?and?Hewlett-Packard.

The?S&P 500?climbed 3.87 points, or 0.27 percent, to finish at 1,461.02. The?Nasdaq?gained 14.00 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 3,105.81.

The?CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, closed near 14, snapping a six-day losing streak. The index has plummeted more than 40 percent in the last two weeks. (Read More:?Why VIX's Recent Plunge May Be Bad for Stocks)

Among key S&P sectors,?health care?and?industrials?gained, while?financials?closed lower.

"After a pretty good start to 2013, we'll have to see how fourth-quarter earnings come in???the market's in a wait-and-see mode until at least next week," said Art Hogan, managing director at Lazard Capital Markets. "And guidance from companies will likely remain conservative in the face of 'fiscal cliff' 2.0."

Alcoa?met its earnings target and?topped revenue expectations. The company also said it expects global aluminum demand to rise to 7 percent in 2013, up from 6 percent in 2012. In addition, at least two brokerages raised their price target on the company.

"Alcoa's results are generally considered a bellwether for the global economy and the fact that the aluminium giant forecasts higher demand in 2013 appeased investors," Chris Weston, a trader at IG Markets wrote in a note.

Still, investors remained cautious over the fourth-quarter earnings season as estimates have been sharply lowered from where they were last October. Earnings are expected to grow by 2.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

But analysts say the lowered expectations leave room for companies to surprise to the upside even if results aren't stellar.

Widely-followed hedge fund manager Dan Loeb's Third Point?disclosed a 8.24 percent stake?in?Herbalife, according to a 13G filing.

Separately, the SEC opened an inquiry into Herbalife. The probe won't necessarily result in any enforcement action, but it adds pressure on the company a day before its meeting with investors. In December, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square outlined his case for shorting the nutrition and skin-care products company. Ackman also criticized Herbalife, saying the company is a "pyramid scheme" that has grown rapidly without demonstrating "much substance" to justify the growth.

Morgan Stanley?plans to cut 1,600 jobs, or?approximately 6 percent of its workforce, in its investment banking unit, according to sources. The latest round of cuts comes in addition to a 6 percent reduction last year.

Boeing's?787 Dreamliner jet?suffered a third mishap?this week after Japan's All Nippon Airways said it canceled a 787 Dreamliner flight due to brake problems. The latest problem follows a fuel leak on Tuesday that forced a Japan Airlines 787 aircraft to cancel take-off at Boston's Logan International Airport, a day after a different JAL 787 aircraft caught fire after a flight to Boston from Tokyo. Still, shares of Boeing rallied, rebounding from two days of declines.

Clearwire?received an?unsolicited takeover bid of $3.30 a share?from?Dish Network.?Sprint Nextel?already has an agreement to acquire 50 percent of Clearwire it doesn't already own for $2.97 a share. Clearwire said its ability to enter other transactions is limited by other arrangements, but that it has a fiduciary duty to discuss the Dish offer.

Bank of America?slumped after Credit Suisse downgraded the financial giant to?"neutral" from "outperform."?BofA was the best performer on the Dow in 2012.?

Facebook?crossed above $30 a share for the first time in six months after the social-networking giant sent out a press event invitation for next week at its Menlo Park campus. The invitation has some buzzing about a phone, while others speculate it could be a search engine.

Meanwhile,?Apple?slipped, adding to recent declines. The iPhone maker's stock is down almost 25 percent from its all-time high and is the worst performer on the Nasdaq 100 index over the last four months.

Also among earnings,?Apollo Group?plunged to lead the S&P 500 decliners after the for-profit education company posted lower enrollment rates for the third-consecutive quarter and slashed its operating profit estimates for 2013.

Constellation Brands?rallied after the wine company topped earnings expectations and boosted its forecast for the second time this fiscal year. Warehouse club operator?PriceSmart?is schedule to post earnings after the closing bell.

Weekly mortgage applications?rose last week, rebounding from three consecutive weeks of declines, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Treasurys pared their gains?after the government auctioned $21 billion in 10-year notes at a high yield of 1.863 percent. The bid-to-cover was 2.83.

Technology stocks?will be in focus as the Consumer Electronics Show continues in Las Vegas. Reuters reported that one of?Microsoft's?top Windows executives said at the show that the group has?sold 60 million licenses and upgrades?for its Windows 8 operating system in the 10 weeks since its launch.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/industrials-lead-stocks-close-slightly-higher-1B7913282

Melissa Nelson sound of music foot locker champs champs calvin johnson calvin johnson