US stock indexes drift amid profit reports, stimulus talks

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting on Thursday as more big companies report profits for the summer that weren’t as bad as Wall Street feared. The S&P 500 was flat in midday trading after erasing an earlier, small gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite flip-flopped from small gains to losses throughout the day. They’re the latest flits in the stock market’s meandering trading over recent weeks as investors gauge the chances of Washington reac