Wednesday's early afternoon trade: market pauses before start of earnings news

The S&P 500 paused near a seven-week high on low volume on Wednesday before the start of earnings reports next week, which investors hoped would provide the catalyst for stocks to advance. Signs of a strengthening economy plus merger and acquisition activity have pushed the S&P 500 close to 1,344, the highest level since June 2008.
A meaningful breach of that level could lead to a stocks breeakout, pushing prices higher The Dow industrials hit their highest intraday level since 2008 but gains were capped in what was set to be another low volume day. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 18.73 points, or 0.15 percent, to 12,412.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.12 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,332.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.57 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,790.62.
The Dow was supported by Cisco Systems Inc, which rose 4.3 percent to $17.95 the day after chief executive John Chambers suggested that the networking giant might change operations. The percentage of US stock market bulls rose to the highest level in nearly four months as equities continue to recover from their recent fall, according to a weekly survey of advisers by Investors Intelligence.