Nothing Doing: Market Closes Virtually Unchanged After Mixed News

Filed under: Earnings, Market News, Stocks, Investing

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks are ending little changed after a day of mixed signals on corporate earnings and the economy.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) rose less than one point, or 0.05 percent, to close at 1,897.98 Thursday, barely topping a record set the day before.

The other two major indexes fell. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) slipped two points, or 0.02 percent, to 17,083.80. The Nasdaq (^IXIC) eased one point, or 0.04 percent to 4,472.11.

Facebook (FB) rose 5 percent and was among the top gainers in the S&P 500 after beating earnings expectations.

The Dow was weighed down by Caterpillar (CAT), which fell 3 percent after the equipment maker's quarterly revenue fell short of forecasts.

Homebuilder stocks slid Thursday after the government reported that new home sales sagged 8.1 percent last month.

What to Watch Friday:

• The Commerce Department releases its report on durable goods orders for June at 8:30 a.m.

These major companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial statements:

• Aon (AON)
• Covidien (COV)
• Stanley Black & Decker (SWK)
• Tyco (TYC)
• Xerox (XRX)

 

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