Stocks finished little changed Wednesday as investors eyed ongoing talks on Greece's demands to renegotiate its international bailout as the risk of a debt default looms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 6.62 points, 0.04 percent, to 17,862.14. The S&P 500 was essentially flat, slipping a scant 0.06 to 2,068.53. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 13.54, 0.28 percent, at 4,801.18, getting a lift from Apple, which rose 2.3 percent to close at a record $124.88 a share.
"Stocks are still seeking direction on a resolution to Greece's plea for debt restructuring, while earnings season is starting to wind down," Rob Williams, deputy editor of Moneynews.com, said on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax.TV. "The good news for bulls is that market declines are getting bought, setting the stage for an advance toward December's record high."
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Eurozone finance ministers heading into an emergency meeting in Brussels said they were ready to listen to Greece's plans for debt relief, but insisted that it must complete austerity reforms.
Investors were hesitant to make big bets with the Greece talks ongoing.
"It's just a back-and-forth day without a lot going on, because everybody is waiting to see what happens on Greece," said Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Global Asset Management.
The S&P 500 Trust Series exchange-traded fund, a proxy for the market, traded about 84 million shares, the lowest of the year.
Beverage and snacks giant PepsiCo advanced 2.5 percent after reporting fourth-quarter earnings of $1.12 per share, four cents ahead of analyst expectations. The company also announced a new share repurchase program of up to $12 billion to start in July.
One day after becoming the first company worth over $700 billion, Apple rose another 2.3 percent as activist shareholder Carl Icahn revived his call for the company to buy back more stock.
Food company Mondelez International gained 2.6 percent as 2014 profit climbed 8.9 percent to $3 billion thanks in part to cost-cutting initiatives. The company warned the strong dollar will drag on results in 2015.
Furniture and housewares chain Pier 1 Imports slumped 24.3 percent after it disclosed that holiday shopping results were "well below" expectations. It also announced that chief financial officer Charles Turner was retiring and would be replaced by Laura Coffey, a 17-year veteran of the company.
Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.00 percent from 1.99 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year fell to 2.57 percent from 2.58 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.