And that’s a wrap for February!
The month ended with a record high for the?S&P 500 (SPX) as it closed up 5.16 points (0.3%), at 1,859.53 for a record close on Friday. For the week, the index rose 1.3% and for the month, 4.3%. The?Dow Jones Industrial Average?(DJIA) increased?49.06 points (0.3%), to 16,321.71, up 1.4% for the week and almost 4% for the month.
The?Nasdaq?Composite?(COMP) fell?10.81 points (0.3%), to 4,308.12 on Friday, but it closed up 1.1% for the week and a 5% jump for February.
On Friday, Apple Inc. (AAPL) held its annual shareholder meeting. Early in the trading day, the stock rose but then went south as investors voted down the proposals that had been placed up for a vote.
From the Wall Street Journal, here’s a few interesting pieces of data from the Q and A session by Apple CEO, Tim Cook:
- Five months after its release, 82% of Apple?s 800 million mobile devices are running iOS 7, the latest version of its mobile operating system. By comparison, about 4% of Android devices are using the latest version of?GoogleGOOG?-0.29%?s mobile operating system, also released late in 2013, according to market researcher Mixpanel.
- Apple TV, the set-top box that the company has called a ?hobby? in the past, generated more than $1 billion in revenue from hardware and programming in the past fiscal year. Apple is working on an updated version of the device, according to people familiar with the matter. ((OK??))
- Cumulative sales in Brazil, Russia, India and China reached $30 billion in the past fiscal year, compared to $4 billion a ?couple of years ago? for those emerging markets. The growth into those countries comes amid slowing growth in North America.
- Apple said it sends ?several billion? messages on its iMessage service every day. Apple said users also send 15 million to 20 million FaceTime messages every day.
For the day, Apple’s stock closed at $526.24, down 1.43 (0.27%) while its options made the most active equity strikes and options list.
During the trading day, Dan Passarelli?posted?the story, “Naked Apple Options.”
The VIX ?closed at 14, down 0.04 (0.28%).