Stock Market Today: Dow Jones Industrial Average Falls, These Stocks Soar

U.S. stocks closed mixed today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average incurring losses, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq noted modest gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.07% or 11 points, to 16,340; the S&P 500 closed up 0.03%, or 0.5 points, at 1,868 points; and the Nasdaq closed up 0.5%, or 16 points, at 4,323 points.

Energy futures fell today, with crude oil, heating oil, and natural gas futures significantly off. Light, sweet crude oil for April delivery is down 2.1% at $97.91 per barrel today; heating oil is down 1.4% at $2.92 per gallon; and natural gas is down 1.7% at $4.52 per million BTUs.

Meanwhile, metals futures rose, with gold trading up 1.5% at $1,367.50 per ounce, platinum trading up 0.7% at $1,475.30 per troy ounce, and silver rising 2.2% at $21.28 per ounce.

Stock in the Spotlight: Facebook (Nasdaq: FB)

Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) shares traded up about 1% today as the company claimed headlines for two separate stories.

First, Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg is rumored to be the possible next head of The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), according to coverage that started with the New York Post. Sandberg is on Disney's board of directors. However, other reports are skeptical of the speculation, which is unattributed.

Second, Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., were on lock down yesterday until late in the evening due to a "possible threat."

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Today's Top Gainers: Solar City, BG Medicine

Several stocks bucked today's down market on positive news, including SolarCity Corp. (Nasdaq: SCTY) and BG Medicine Inc. (Nasdaq: BGMD).

BG Medicine shares were up as much as 20% today after the life sciences company said late Tuesday that it received approval to continue listing on Nasdaq after proving compliance.

BG Medicine likely also received a boost after La Jolla Pharmaceutical welcomed positive results from a phase 2 clinical trial on chronic kidney disease. The study met primary endpoints using BG Medicine's BGM Galectin-3 test.

And Solar City Corp. (Nasdaq: SCTY) shares rose more than 5% after the solar company partnered with Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) to launch solar-panel consulting and sales locations in about 60 of Best Buy's store.

Today's Major Losers: Herbalife, Express

Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) and Express Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) were among the stocks incurring losses on top of the overall stock market slump.

Herbalife shares plunged about 9% after trading was halted as it said it received a Civil Investigative Demand from the Federal Trade Commission after volatile trading. The nutrition company said it will cooperate in the probe and said it is in compliance with FTC regulations.

And, Express shares plummeted more than 12%, marking a 52-week low of $15.51 in today's session on its fourth-quarter results, with both earnings and revenue falling below the Street view.

Express reported $0.57 per share in earnings and $715.9 million in revenue versus the Street view of $0.59 per share and $722 million in revenue.

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