Stock Market News Today: 2014 Starts in the Red

Stock Market News Today, Jan. 2, 2014: U.S. stocks are kicking off the New Year on a heavy note in today's trading, with the Dow shedding more than 100 points as investors absorb fairly positive reports on jobless claims and U.S. manufacturing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today is down 0.7% at 16,454,74, while the Standard & Poor's 500 is down 0.8% at 1,832.75, and the Nasdaq Composite Index is off 0.93% at 4,137.90.

Initial jobless claims fell 2,000 to 339,000 last week, which is close to analyst expectations of a small increase for that week.

And U.S manufacturing wrapped up 2103 with stronger production figures than earlier in the year. The Institute for Supply Management's gauge of manufacturing revealed slightly slower growth in December, but still close to a two and a half year high.

European markets are also weighed today, even with upbeat European Union production data there, particularly in Germany, Italy, and Spain.

Meanwhile, oil prices are falling. Light, sweet crude oil for February delivery is down 0.8% at $97.61 per barrel. Heating oil is down 1.8% at $3.01 per gallon. Natural gas, however, is up 1.0% at $4.27 per million BTUs.

But as stocks and oil prices plummet, gold and silver prices are making significant strides today. Gold for February delivery is up more than $20 today at $1,223.80 per ounce, and silver for February delivery is up about 3.6% at $20.07 per ounce.

Major Stock Gainers: WPCS International, Oramed

Among the stocks catching headlines today, Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq: AMGN) , a biotechnology company, is up about 2% after it reported results from a phase 2 study evaluating romosozumab, a treatment for postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density. Amgen said the trial revealed "significant" increases in bone density in the spine and hip.

There were some double-digit gainers despite the Dow's triple-digit fall...

WPCS International Inc. (Nasdaq: WPCS) shares are soaring more than 12% after the company infrastructure developer provided upbeat operational and corporate updates regarding its contracting business and recent Bitcoin acquisition.

And Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ORMP) is up about 17% today, marking a new 52-week high at $18.88. The company will get its patent approved in Australia and Israel for a core concept of its technology for oral delivery of vaccines and drugs.

Vringo Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNG) was also among the other upside movers earlier today, although the stock recently tanked into the red, now down about 1%. The company said it will sell its mobile partnerships, applications business, and internally developed patents to Infomedia.

Finally, Fiat S.p.A. (OTCMKTS: FIATY) soared about 15% on news the company would take full ownership of Chrysler. Get the full story on the benefits of this deal here.

Stocks in the Red: Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is among the stocks in the tech sector losing ground today. AAPL is down more than 1% after it was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo earlier today. [Although we remain bullish on AAPL for these reasons...]

And Chanticleer Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: HOTR) is down about 5% today after the company said it acquired 100% of the shares in Tacoma Wings LLC and Hooters of Oregon Partners LLC. HOTR hit a day low of $4.91, trading in a 52-week range of $1.40 to $5.84.

Finally, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) is down about 3% after shares were downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies Group.

Start profiting today with our top investing analysis for 2014: Where the "Wired" Money Is Going Next