NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. stocks were virtually flat Wednesday afternoon as investors had trouble choosing among sentiments -- optimism about the economic outlook and pessimism about the short-term prospects for companies.
The optimism was fostered by the Index of Leading Economic Indicators for May, which showed a stronger-than-expected gain. The pessimism came through warnings from technology companies and ratings changes from brokerage firms.
At 1:20 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 7.38 to 10,604.05, having been on both sides of breakeven throughout the session. The Nasdaq composite index gained 2.61 to 1,995.27, while the Standard & Poor's 500 added 4.84 to 1,217.42. 
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