US stocks end mixed amid earnings, data

U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed after wavering between small gains and losses Thursday, as investors assessed quarterly earnings from big banks amid economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 18.15 points, or 0.10 percent, to 17,926.43. The S&P 500 edged up 0.36 point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,082.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 1.53 points, or 0.03 percent, to 4,945.89.

Bank of America on Thursday reported quarterly net income of 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 21 cents per diluted share, generally in line with expectations. Its shares jumped 2.54 percent to 14.14 U.S. dollars apiece.

Shares of Wells Fargo edged down 0.49 percent to 48.79 dollars apiece Thursday after the release of its lackluster quarterly results.

Wells Fargo posted quarterly net income of 5.5 billion dollars, compared with 5.8 billion dollars in the first quarter 2015. Its diluted earnings per share were 99 cents, compared with 1.04 dollars in the same period last year.

On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increase 0.1 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent in March after rising 0.3 percent in February.

"Back-to-back days of weaker than expected inflation readings will cause some analysts to question one-way bets on the direction of prices. Both producer and consumer prices cooled this week, giving credence to the Fed 'cautious and gradual' approach," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial.

In a separate report, the department reported that in the week ending April 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 253,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level.