US stocks were slightly lower by early afternoon on Thursday as investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and one by US President Barack Obama later in the day. Indexes seesawed between modest gains and losses. Banks were the biggest decliners after sharp gains on Wednesday. The KBW Bank Index was down nearly 1.7 percent.
Technology stocks were the day's top gainers, supporting the Nasdaq, which outperformed other indexes. The Philadelphia semiconductor index was up 1.4 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 11.58 points, or 0.10 percent, at 11,403.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.79 points, or 0.15 percent, at 1,196.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.68 points, or 0.03 percent, at 2,548.26. Among bank shares, J.P. Morgan fell 2.2 percent to $34.06, the biggest decliner on the Dow.
Bank of America Corp fell 1.7 percent and was the third largest decliner on the blue chip index. The S&P 500 financial sector index lost 1.2 percent. On the upside, Yahoo shares rose 3.1 percent to $14.03 after a top shareholder, Third Point LLC, demanded that Yahoo overhaul its board of directors.
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