Stocks End Mixed, Mostly Unchanged

U.S. stocks mostly edged lower on Wednesday, taking a breather after a four-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 30.83 points, or 0.19%, at 15,963.94. The S&P 500 closed down 0.49 point, or 0.03%, at 1,819.26. The Nasdaq Composite finished the day 10.24 points, or 0.24%, higher at 4,201.29.

Must-pass legislation to allow the government to borrow money to pay its bills has cleared Congress for President Barack Obama’s signature. The Senate approved the measure by a near party-line 55-43 vote. All of the “aye” votes came from Obama’s Democratic allies.

Another 1.1 million people enrolled in Obamacare federal and state exchanges during January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday.

Smart-grid technology company Silver Spring Networks expects five “sizable” customers to contribute to a better
performance this year, and the company has made progress into street lighting and city networking businesses, analysts at Stifel said in a note late Tuesday.

Fidelity Investments, the No. 2 U.S. mutual fund company, said on Wednesday that operating profit rose 13 percent to $2.6 billion last year as clients pulled less money from its funds.