On Monday, stocks took a break from their recent rising trend, remaining essentially unchanged as investors waited for Apple’s upcoming earnings report. The S&P 500 suffered its first losing day after six winning sessions on Tuesday, following unexciting quarterly earnings report and a report of Greek debt-relief talks reaching an impasse. After hours Tuesday, Apple released a very positive earnings report, its first since Steve Jobs stepped down. This report coupled with a statement by Fed Chair Ben Bernanke indicating that interest rates would remain low into 2014 fueled a rally on Wednesday. On Thursday, some of these gains were given back as mixed economic indicators offset good earnings reports by Caterpillar and 3M. Stocks closed the week on Friday on a down note when news surfaced that the US GDP from October to December rose at a smaller rate than was expected.

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