U.S. stocks traded sideways on Thursday afternoon continued, the major indexes fluctuated between the small ups and downs. Merck shares fell sharply, dragging down the Dow decline. Initial claims for unemployment benefits last week, disappointing, but Spain and Italy, the news of a successful auction of Treasury market sentiment improved.
EST at 12:46 on January 13, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.65 points to 11,738.79 points, down 0.14%; the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.28 points to 2,739.61 points, or 0.08 /%; Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.24 points to 1,285.72 points, down 0.02%.