NEW YORK, N.Y. - 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 rose less than one point, or 0.05 per cent, 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 slipped two points, or 0.02 per cent, to 17,083.80. The Nasdaq eased one point, or 0.04 per cent to 4,472.11.
Facebook rose 5 per cent and was among the top gainers in the S&P 500 after beating earnings expectations.
The Dow was weighed down by Caterpillar, which fell 3 per cent 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 per cent last month.