Stocks drift indecisively as tensions build in Ukraine; Dow and S&P 500 notch small gains

3/7/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Wall-Street-591

    Traders George Ettinger, left, and Robert Oswald work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, March 7, 2014. Stocks were wavering between small gains and losses early Friday after the government reported a pickup in hiring last month as well as a slight increase in the unemployment rate as more people started looking for work. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

  • NEW YORK — Stocks finished mixed after an indecisive day of trading as traders worried about escalating tensions in Ukraine.

    The Standard & Poor’s 500 managed a small gain, enough to set its latest record high. The index closed 1 point higher, a gain of 0.1 percent, at 1,878.

    The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,452.

    The Nasdaq composite fell 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,336.

    The market started the day higher after an encouraging report on the U.S. job market, then drifted between small gains and losses the rest of the day. Biotechnology and health care stocks were among the biggest decliners.

    Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.