Stocks Finish Mixed, Dow Extends Losing Streak

U.S. stocks finished mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 eking out a tiny gain, the Dow slipping for the third day in a row, and the Nasdaq Composite snapping a four-day skid. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 11.17 points, or 0.07%, at 16,340.08. The S&P 500 was up 0.57 point, or 0.03%, at 1,868.20. The Nasdaq Composite gained 16.15 points, or 0.37%, at 4,323.33,

The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal investigation into Herbalife (HLF)’s operations Wednesday, pushing shares of the nutrition and weight loss company sharply lower.

Trading of Pfizer Inc. shares was halted temporarily on Wednesday as the drug-making giant said it lost a patent ruling for its top-selling arthritis drug Celebrex. A Virginia federal court invalidated what is known as a “reissue” patent on the popular medication, days before Pfizer PFE was scheduled to go to trial next week against several major generic drug makers.

Yahoo on Wednesday unveiled a new partnership with Yelp, confirming reports that the Web portal was turning to the business reviews site in its bid to be “long in search.” Yahoo said it was including Yelp’s listings, reviews and other information in the Web portal’s search results.