U.S. stocks fluctuate narrowly amid upbeat data

U.S. stocks wavered between small gains and losses in the morning session Thursday, as Wall Street digested a batch of generally positive economic reports.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43.59 points, or 0.26 percent, to 16,528.58. The S&P 500 gained 3.35 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,933.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 4.52 points, or 0.10 percent, to 4,538.08.

U.S. new orders for manufactured durable goods in January increased 11.1 billion U.S. dollars, or 4.9 percent to 237.5 billion dollars, well above market consensus, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Thursday.

The increase, up following two consecutive monthly decreases, followed a 4.6 percent December decrease.

"Aside from volatility, orders are flatlining. Still, flatline is better than how orders looked last month. It will take another month before we can get more excited. As good as the data were today, there is not yet any evidence of a rising trend," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.

Meanwhile, in the week ending Feb. 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims increased 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level to 272,000, roughly on par with market estimates, said the Labor Department Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 272,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 273,250.

Oil prices, which traded about 2 percent lower around midday Thursday, were also in focus. On Wednesday, oil prices pared early steep declines to close higher, as data showed U.S. gasoline demand rose 5.2 percent over the past four weeks compared with a year ago.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks reversed early sharp losses to end higher, as signs of stabilization in oil prices soothed anxious investors. Endit