U.S. stocks close mixed

NEW YORK, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 106.84 points, or 0.25 percent, to 42,635.2. The S&P 500 added 9.22 points, or 0.16 percent, to 5,918.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 10.80 points, or 0.06 percent, to 19,478.88.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with health and materials leading the gainers by rising 0.53 percent and 0.49 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and energy led the laggards by dropping 0.74 percent and 0.10 percent, respectively.