US stocks flat following mixed economic data

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were little changed early Thursday following mixed economic data a day after hitting all-time highs amid optimism over the US presidential transition.

The housing market again showed strength in December, with homebuilding projects jumping 5.8 percent from the prior month. Meanwhile, new jobless claims fell marginally from the prior week, but remained at 900,000, a stunningly high level some 10 months into the coronavirus pandemic.

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 31,186.54.

The broad-based S&P 500 was also flat at 3,851.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.1 percent to 13,475.00.

All three major indices ended at records Wednesday after Joe Biden was sworn in as president amid optimism over the new administration's plans to support the US economy and improve the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

But early news reports indicating congressional skepticism of Biden's $1.9 trillion fiscal package suggest "it isn't going to be an easy undertaking to get the fullness of the proposal passed soon," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Among individual companies, United Airlines slumped 5.8 percent as it projected first-quarter revenues declines of 65 percent after reporting a $7.1 billion loss in 2020 due to the big downturn in travel from the coronavirus.