Market Close Wrap-Up: December 20th, 2010

The major U.S. equity indices closed mixed Monday, as the Census Bureau released data on the retail sector. The Census Bureau reported that net sales and profits have edged higher for major retailers year-over-year; sales increased 5.5% from the year-ago period and profits received a 7.5% boost year-over-year. However, the report pointed out that though 80,000 jobs were added to the retail sector this year, hiring in the sector only rose by 0.6%. In corporate news, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) will acquire Germany's largest e-commerce shopping club, brands4friends, for $200 million in a bid to boost its European presence. The deal is slated to close during Q1 2011. Best Buy Co. (NYSE:BBY) is offering a MiFi bundle for the holidays with the purchase of a data plan until January 2nd. Taking a look at where the markets closed, The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed 0.12% lower at 11,478.13, the S&P500 (INX) closed 0.25% higher at 1,247.08, and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) closed 0.25% higher at 2,649.56.