U.S. stock market ends little changed after mixed signals on the economy, earnings

7/24/2014

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 rose less than one point, or 0.05 percent, to close at 1,897.98 today, 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 percent, to 17,083.80. The Nasdaq eased one point, or 0.04 percent to 4,472.11.

Facebook 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, which fell 3 percent after the equipment maker’s quarterly revenue fell short of forecasts.

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