Stocks were little changed Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average tried to reach a key milestone.
The 30-stock index inched down 0.91 points to 39,907.09.
Thursday’s moves put the Dow less than 100 points from 40,000 — a level it has never reached. They come a day after a broad market surge that drove the S&P 500 above 5,300 for the first time.
The S&P 500 eked higher 4.55 points, or 1.2%, to 5,312.70.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 19.41 points to 16,761.80.
Shares of Walmart were up more than 5% after the retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
That performance was helped by the April reading of the consumer price index, a broad measure of how much goods and services cost at the cash register, which increased 0.3% from the prior month. That was slightly below the Dow Jones estimate of 0.4%. Consumer prices still grew 3.4% from a year ago.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury inched back, raising yields to 4.37% from Wednesday’s 4.35%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.02 to $79.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices erased $14.20 to $2,380.70.
