Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Index fell 3.77 points (0.03 percent) to 13,387.59.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.67 point (0.05 percent) to 1,460.04, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 2.06 (0.07 percent) to 3,098.50.

US equities closed lower Thursday amid profit taking after shares rose strongly for two straight sessions driven by Congress's long-awaited deal to avert the economy-crunching fiscal cliff.

The Dow and the S&P 500 both shed 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.4 percent.