Stocks edge higher after holiday; Coca-Cola falls

2/18/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Stocks are ending mostly higher on Wall Street as traders get back to work after a long holiday weekend.

Health care stocks rose today following a big merger in the pharmaceutical sector.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose two points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 1,840.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,130. The Dow was held back by Coca-Cola, which fell 4 percent after reporting disappointing results.

The Nasdaq composite increased 28 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,272.

Forest Laboratories jumped 28 percent after another drugmaker, Actavis, agreed to buy the company for $25 billion.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.71 percent from 2.75 percent.

Markets were closed Monday for Presidents’ Day.