NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks turned in a mixed performance in a volatile session Wednesday after the market lost its initial euphoria over Iraq's acceptance of last week's U.N. resolution on weapons inspections.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 12.49 to 8398.49, Charts) ended little changed, the Nasdaq composite (up 11.78 to 1361.34, Charts) managed a modest gain, and the Standard & Poor's 500 (down 0.42 to 882.53, Charts) index barely budged. Weakness in Citigroup and Merck weighed on the Dow.

The market initially surged on Iraq's acceptance of the U.N. resolution calling for a resumption of weapons inspections, but pulled back as skepticism set in about whether Baghdad would actually allow weapons inspectors back into the country and give them the full access the United Nations has demanded.

"The devil's in the details," Joseph Battipaglia, market strategist with Ryan Beck & Co., told CNNfn's The Money Gang. "The key deadline for Iraq is Dec. 8, when it will have to come clean about what they have by means of weapons of mass destruction. It remains to be seen whether the United States and the U.N. are satisfied with those explanations."

"Although the market was happy with the Iraq news, it wasn't unanticipated. Therefore the rally was short-lived," he said.

Traders noted that many investors chose to sit on the sidelines ahead of key economic data expected later in the week on industrial production and consumer sentiment. Technology stocks fared better, helped by buying in hardware, storage and networking stocks.

Applied Materials (AMAT: down $0.37 to $14.70, Research, Estimates) posted a fourth-quarter profit after the bell that squeaked past Wall Street's estimate by a penny a share, but the chip-equipment maker said in a conference call it does not expect the industry to improve anytime soon, according to Briefing .com. Applied Material shares shed 2 cents to $14.68 in after-hours trading.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners beat advancers by about 8-7 as 1.4 billion shares traded. On the Nasdaq, advancers edged decliners as 1.8 billion shares changed hands.

Meanwhile, investors will be eyeing Dell Computer's quarterly results and October retail sales data Thursday.

Dell is expected to post earnings of 21 cents a share against last year's 16 cents, while economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect last month's retail data to add to September's 1.2 percent decline with a 0.2 percent drop.

Among the market movers, Citigroup (C: down $1.39 to $35.00, Research, Estimates) eroded the Dow's advance. Jack Grubman, a former telecom analyst with the company's Salomon Smith Barney unit, disavowed a 1999 e-mail in which he said he was pushed by CEO Sanford Weill to upgrade AT&T (T: down $0.39 to $13.47, Research, Estimates)'s stock as part of a power struggle; the e-mail was first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Merck (MRK: down $2.02 to $52.80, Research, Estimates) shares shed value late in the session as investors appeared to react negatively to news that the company revealed earlier in its Securities and Exchange Commission filing back in March regarding a Justice Department probe into its marketing activity.

Weakness in Schering -Plough (SGP: down $0.87 to $20.66, Research, Estimates) hurt the broader market. The maker of pharmaceutical products said late Tuesday that it had received two additional grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts probing its sales and marketing practices related to several of its products. The company is already under investigation for its relationship with insurers and doctors.

But gains in Wal-Mart (WMT: up $1.13 to $54.98, Research, Estimates) and Philip Morris (MO: up $1.22 to $38.25, Research, Estimates) countered the blue-chip selloff on the Dow.

Wal-Mart rose after posting a third-quarter profit that topped analysts' estimates but offered cautious guidance on its fourth quarter.

Outside the hardware, software arena, buying in storage and networking stocks propped the Nasdaq. Among the gainers were Network Appliance (NTAP: up $0.84 to $10.61, Research, Estimates), the maker of network data-storage equipment. The company said late Tuesday that it sees slow and steady growth going forward after posting an in-line profit for its second quarter.

Stocks were whipsawed in the day's session, bouncing off an initial selloff after Iraq accepted unconditionally terms of the most recent U.N. resolution requiring it to disarm and allow weapons inspectors back into the country.

Comments from Federal Reserve chairman Greenspan before the Joint Economic Committee also rocked the market. The major indexes pulled back initially after Greenspan talked of a "soft patch" in the economy, but turned around quickly after indicating that the central bank still had room to act if the risks to the economy continue.

But the economy and geopolitical concerns were pushed to the background late in the session after investors put the focus back on corporate news.

European markets fell after British telecom Cable & Wireless announced it was slashing about 3,500 jobs as it retreats from its U.S. and continental European markets. Asian-Pacific stocks closed lower Wednesday after Tokyo's Nikkei index slumped to a 19-year low.

Treasury prices were positive, with the 10-year note yield at 3.84 percent from 3.85 percent late Tuesday. The dollar gained against the yen and euro.

Light crude oil futures fell 82 cents to $24.48 a barrel in U.S. trading on the Iraq news. Gold prices fell.