US stocks end little changed after disappointing earnings

US stocks erased early gains and finished Thursday little changed as disappointing earnings reports from the banking sector weighed on sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.15 points, or 0.10%, to finish at 17,926.43. The S&P 500 advanced only marginally by less than a point, or 0.02% to close at 2,082.78. The Nasdaq lost 1.53 points, or 0.03%, to close at 4,945.89.

Investors looked past a mixed bag of US data, which showed consumer inflation in the twelve months to March rose by only 0.9%, while initial jobless claims dropped to a 43-year low of 253K in the week ended Apr 8.

DJIA technical perspective

“Trading near fresh year-to-date highs, the DJIA daily chart shows that the index recovered above its 20 SMA, but that the technical indicators lack upward strength, having turned flat within positive territory,” said Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXStreet. “In the 4 hours chart, the Momentum indicator has turned lower within extreme overbought levels, whilst the RSI remains flat around 71 and the index develops far above a bullish 20 SMA, all of which maintains the risk towards the downside, and supports an advance beyond the 18,000 figure for early next week.”

Support levels: 17,874 17,814 17,723. Resistance levels: 17,974 18,045 18,105.