S&P 500: Getting Some Lift

Stocks have been steadily sinking since the S&P 500 reached a five-year-high last Friday, but they broke that losing streak to rise just a tad on Wednesday, closing up 3.87 points (0.3 percent) at 1461.02. The Dow also closed up 61.66 points (0.5 percent) at 13,390.51. Gold fell $6.70 to $1,655.50 an ounce, and crude oil fell to $93.10 a barrel.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE:AA) was the first to reveal fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday night, and its share prices went down 0.2 percent.

Despite a dramatic series of accidents involving Boeing, Co. ‘s (NYSE:BA) brand spanking new 787 Dreamliner — so far, there has been a fire, an exploding battery, a fuel leak, and a faulty warning system  – the company’s shares rose 3.6 percent.

Start 2013 better than ever by saving time and making money with your Limited Time Offer for our highly-acclaimed Stock Picker Newsletter. Get our fresh Feature Stock Pick now!

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) announced that they will be cutting 1,600 jobs, and their shares fell 0.2 percent.

Despite investor Bill Ackman’s accusations that Herbalife, Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is a pyramid scheme, the company’s stock rose 4.2 percent after Daniel Loeb, hedge fund manager, bet that the Federal Trade Commission would not shut them down.

Investing Insights: Is Alcoa’s Stock a Buy Now?