Amid mixed earnings news, Dow up slightly

First Posted:

DAVID K. RANDALL and MATTHEW CRAFT AP Business Writers

NEW YORK — A surprise jump in applications for unemployment benefits and mixed earnings from large U.S. companies kept stocks on a short leash Thursday.
Indexes ended slightly higher, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 closing a half point below 1,300.
The Dow Jones industrial average traded above 12,000 for most of the day but failed to close above that level for the second day in a row. The Dow hasn’t closed above 12,000 since June 19, 2008, just as the financial crisis was worsening.
Procter & Gamble Co., the maker of consumer products like Tide detergent, fell 2.9 percent, the largest drop among the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones average. P&G said rising commodity prices are pinching its profits.
AT&T Inc. fell 2 percent after saying that new wireless contracts fell to the lowest level in more than five years.
Caterpillar Inc. rose 0.9 percent after its fourth-quarter profit quadrupled on strong global demand for mining and construction equipment.
The Dow has gained 18.5 percent in the past year.
First-time applications for unemployment rose to 454,000 last week, the highest level since late October.