Dow Jones Industrial Average Wins Roller-Coaster Day

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) spent the day wavering on either side of breakeven, as both stocks and crude oil whipsawed between gains and losses. Traders also considered a bigger-than-expected rise in weekly jobless claims, as well as steep drops in monthly factory orders and fourth-quarter productivity -- the latest pieces of soft economic data, suggesting the Fed will likely stand pat for a bit. By the close, though, the Dow and its index peers managed a win, though oil wasn't as resilient.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• 2 financial stocks heating up the options pits.
• Rooting for a Carolina Super Bowl win? So are these 20 stocks.
• How Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) contributed to a huge day for VirnetX Holding Corporation (NYSEMKT:VHC).
• Plus ... Shkreli takes to Twitter, a technical difficulty at the IRS, and a GoPro supplier carving its own path.
  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 16,416.58) explored a range of more than 200 points, and managed a gain of 79.9 points, or 0.5%. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) led 19 of the 30 components higher with a 4.3% gain. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) was the Dow's biggest laggard, shedding 3.7%.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 1,915.45) eked out a win, gaining 2.9 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 4,509.56) ended a slim 5.3 points, or 0.1% higher.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 21.84) rose 0.2 point, or 0.9%, for the day.

5 Items on Our Radar Today:

1. The House Oversight Committee began its hearing on drug pricing today, questioning executives from Turing Pharmaceuticals AG and Valeant Pharmaceutials Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX) about their practices. Former Turing CEO Martin Shkreli was dismissed after invoking the Fifth Amendment -- and later tweeted that it's "Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government." (Bloomberg)

2. With tax season revving up, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had what it called a "hardware failure" on Wednesday, leaving its tax processing system unavailable for a time. The problem prevented electronic tax returns from being filed, and some taxpayers' refunds could be affected by the outage. (USA Today)

3. A new GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO) low couldn't sink this supplier.

4. Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) got a boost on its buyout potential.

5. This retailer took a nosedive on disappointing guidance.

  Data courtesy of Trade-Alert

Commodities:

After a huge rebound Wednesday, crude oil resumed its downward slide on skepticism that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil-producing countries will take steps to reduce production. U.S. crude for March delivery lost 56 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $31.72 a barrel.

An ailing greenback was a boon for dollar-denominated gold, which rose to a three-month high. The April contract climbed $16.20, or 1.4%, to close at $1,157.50 an ounce.