Closing Bell Wrap-Up: November 17, 2010

"Last updated November 17, 2010: 4:15 PM ET --- The major U.S. equity indices closed mixed Wednesday, following a Federal Reserve announcement that banks will have to undergo new stress tests to prove they can hold strong during a recession or major borrower default.

The Fed's examiners will look at 19 previously tested banks. The firms under the looking glass include Citigroup (NYSE:C), JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC). All called upon banks must file for the stress tests by January 7, 2011.

In corporate news, BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) reported a year-over-year boost of 8.6% to its Q3 net sales.. coming in at $7.84 billion. The firm's quarterly net income posted at $23.0 million, or $0.43 per share, up from $17.4 million, or $0.32 per share, in the year-ago period.

Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) also reported Q3 earnings. The store posted EPS of $0.74, a 28.5% increase from $0.58 in the year-ago period. Net earnings for the quarter rose from $436 million in 2009, to $535 million. Sales rose 3% year-over-year to $15.2 billion and gross margin declined from 30.8% in the year-ago period to 30.6%.

Taking a look at the major U.S. indices...The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed 0.14% lower at 11,007.88, the S&P500 (INX) closed 0.02% higher at 1,178.59, and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) closed 0.25% higher at 2,476.01."