Stock Market News Today: Gains Slip After Icahn Warning

Stock market news today, Nov. 18: The Dow ended up today but fell short of 16,000 after bearish comments from Carl Icahn.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.1% to 15,976 points, hitting a high of 16,030 earlier in the day. The S&P 500 closed down about 0.4% at 1,791 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 1% at 3,949.

Stocks were up higher, until Carl Icahn said at the Reuters Global Investment Outlook Summit that he is cautious on equities. He suggested a big drop could occur.

Icahn also said that earnings results this quarter are fueled more by cost-cutting than by strong management.

Stocks had held gains earlier in the session despite a home-builder confidence gauge missing economists' estimates today.

The National Association of Homebuilders today reported the housing-market index was 54 in November, the lowest level in four months. However, builder confidence above 50 means that builders are generally positive about future sales trends.

Today's Stock Market Movers

Among today's movers, Chinese language search engine Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) nearly broke another record high today, trading as high as $169.55 before falling back. The stock has been up for four consecutive days, with a record high of $169.75.

And, in consumer news, Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) is narrowly higher in afternoon trade, with the cable television provider today announcing a long-term deal to continue distributing Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA) channels such as the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Oprah Winfrey Network, and Destination America.

The deal includes online streaming, the first time DISCA has allowed subscribers to watch those channels from tablets, desktops, or smartphones. Financial terms or other details of the contract were not disclosed. TWC shares are trading at about $121.30 each, up 0.4%. DISCA was slightly lower at $85.35 a share.

In technology news, On Track Innovations (Nasdaq: OTIV) is significantly higher today as shares are up about 17% to $3.35, setting a new 52-week high of $3.50. The maker of microprocessor-based smart cards said it's allowing users to "swipe" their cards without touching readers. It also announced a new partnership to supply ABnote's mobile wallet offerings with OTIV's new WAVE device.