SmarTrend Market Close Wrap-Up: December 27th, 2010

The major U.S. equity indices closed mixed Monday, in the aftermath of a northeastern blizzard and an unexpected interest rate boost by China's central bank. The People's Bank of China said it is set to increase the benchmark lending rate to 5.81%, a boost of 25 basis points. Bank officials also said the benchmark deposit rate will likewise increase by 25 basis points to 2.75%. Post-Christmas retail stocks took the brunt of the northeastern snowstorm in the market, as shares of Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) declined by as much as 2% and continued to trade lower for the better part of the day. Shares of Macy's (NYSE:M) also fell 0.2% earlier in the day, before picking up to trade 0.32% higher in the afternoon session. In corporate news, Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad was ranked in the top spot on The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg's best products of 2010 list. Dell's (NASDAQ:DELL) Android-based Streak tablet, however, ranked as one of Mossberg's worst products picks of the year, as did Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) TV and TiVo Premier (NASDAQ:TIVO). Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) will settle a U.S. government lawsuit regarding Medicaid reimbursements from healthcare industry employees, including pharmacists, at a price of $65 million. Officials from Dean Foods (NYSE:DF) agreed to pay $30 million in damages in an antitrust lawsuit settlement with Northeast Dairy Farmers. Through the settlement, Dean Foods will also buy milk from dairy producers in the region. Taking a look at where the markets closed today, The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed 0.16% lower at 11,5555, the S&P500 (INX) closed 0.06% higher at 1,257, and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) closed 0.69% higher at 2,667.