US stocks flat

US stocks were little changed on Thursday, bouncing from initial losses after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi brushed off pressure for more immediate monetary policy action, saying the issue would be addressed early next year. Energy sector stocks were the largest weight on the S&P 500 with a 0.5 per cent drop that follows three days of gains in which they advanced 3.2 per cent. The sector is down 7.8 per cent year-to-date as crude oil prices tumbled. At 1:12 p.m. EST (1812 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.09 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 17,911.53, the S&P 500 lost 1.12 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 2,073.21 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.35 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 4,778.82. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,821 to 1,193, for a 1.53-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,405 issues fell and 1,214 advanced for a 1.16-to-1 ratio favoring decliners. The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 97 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 114 new highs and 68 new lows, according to Reuters.