(By Balachander) U.S. stocks ended on a mixed note ahead of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
The S&P 500 Index rose 0.16 percent to end at 1,519.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.34 percent to finish at 14,018.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.17 percent to close at 3,186.49.
Obama will deliver his State of the Union address after the markets close and investors await for any remarks from the President regarding the "sequester" or automatic spending cuts that will take effect in just two weeks.
There were no major U.S. economic data scheduled for the day.
Other reports of interest due to be released over the week include: the Commerce Department's retail sales data, the New York Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey, the weekly jobless claims, consumer sentiment survey and the Federal Reserve's industrial production report.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: FB, KO, KORS, AVP, MAS, LVLT, FOSL, DNB, STEM
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) declined 2.52 percent. Wall Street, which was expecting some signs of revision in capital allocation, were disappointed with Chief Executive Tim Cook's comments at a conference.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) fell 3.15 percent after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. downgraded rating on the stock to "market perform" from "outperform."
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) declined 2.95 percent after the beverage giant posted its quarterly numbers. The company reported a 13 percent increase in quarterly profit. Global volume grew 3 percent, though came in lower than analysts expectations.
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) surged 8.77 percent after the apparel retailer boosted its 2013 guidance yet again and posted a jump in quarterly earnings, bolstered by strong results across each of its retail, wholesale and licensing segments.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) jumped 20.52 percent in premarket after the maker of beauty products posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $.06 per share.
Masco Corp. (NYSE: MAS) added 12.42 percent after the maker of home improvement products posted fourth-quarter results that beat market expectations.
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) slumped 12.83 percent after the provider of network services issued its EBITDA forecast for the full year that came in below expectations.
Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) gained 2.97 percent after the maker of fashion accessories reported a 28 percent jump in quarterly earnings on a rise in sales as well as strong growth in its geographical segments. However, the company guided first-quarter below consensus.
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (NYSE: DNB) retreated 8.11 percent after the business-data company posted quarterly results that missed Wall Street projections.
StemCells Inc. (NASDAQ: STEM) jumped nearly 28 percent after the developer of stem cell therapeutics said its product candidate for chronic spinal cord injury continued to show a favorable safety profile.
Global Markets
European markets closed in green ahead of Friday's G-20 meeting, with Germany's DAX up 0.35 percent to close at 7,660.19. France's CAC40 added 0.99 percent to finish at 3,686.58. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.98 percent to end at 6,338.38.
Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.94 percent to end at 11,369.12. India's BSE Sensex closed 0.52 percent higher at 19,561.04. The Chinese and Hong Kong markets were shut for holidays.
Commodity & Currency Scan
Crude oil futures rose 0.43 percent to $97.44 per barrel, while natural gas futures dropped 1.07 percent to $3.24 per million metric British thermal units. Gold futures added 0.19 percent to $1,652 per ounce and silver futures gained 0.66 percent to $31.12 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro advanced 0.33 percent against the U.S. dollar at 1.3450. The British pound lost 0.04 percent against the greenback to 1.5653, and the dollar fell 0.80 percent against the Japanese yen to 93.5700.