US stocks end mixed

Wall Street was narrowly mixed today as lingering concerns about the US economy offset better-than-expected sales from Asda owner Wal-Mart Stores and a flurry of acquisition activity.

Wal-Mart rose after the world’s largest retailer said it expected January same-store sales to rise 2.2%. Tempering the gain was its projection that sales performance was on track to deliver the lowest growth rate in more than 25 years.