Closing Bell: S&P 500, Dow Jones Gain Despite Rate Hike Worries

Stocks finished the day with minor gains, despite being down most of Tuesday amid the threat of a possible December interest rate hike. The S&P 500 was up 0.05%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.07%. The materials, technology, and telecom sectors were down less than 1 percent, while all remaining sectors posted slight gains of less than 1 percent. The Nasdaq fell 0.38%, pressured by Apple (AAPL), which was dragging on the rest of the tech sector. The iPhone maker tumbled more than 2% after Credit Suisse analysts reported supplier checks had shown the company had cut component orders by as much as 10%. Drug-maker Mallinckrodt (MKT) fell more than 17% Monday following a Citron Research report that called for more disclosures about specialty pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt's main drug. But the stock rebounded to gain more than 7% on Tuesday. D.R. Horton (DHI) climbed close to 8% after a recovery in the housing sector supported strong growth in its fourth quarter. The homebuilder earned 64 cents a share, 2 cents above estimates, while revenue jumped nearly 30% to $3.09 billion. Net sales orders climbed 19% to 8,477 homes.