Stocks turn mixed

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Nasdaq composite gained Thursday morning, due to a merger in the grocery sector and the end of Cisco and Apple's trademark dispute.

The blue-chip averages struggled for direction.

The Nasdaq (up 4.93 to 2,523.35, Charts) composite added 0.2 percent almost 90 minutes into the session, while the Dow Jones industrial average (down 17.14 to 12,721.27, Charts) lost a few points and the broader S&P 500 (up 0.78 to 1,458.41, Charts) index was little changed.

Concerns about inflation sent blue chips lower Wednesday, one session after the Dow closed at a record high.

Stocks were a bit more upbeat in the morning Thursday, although gains were slim.

Whole Foods (up $5.05 to $50.75, Charts) said late Wednesday that it will buy rival Wild Oats Markets (up $2.75 to $18.47, Charts) for around $565 million in cash. The deal sent both Whole Foods and Wild Oats stock higher Thursday morning in active Nasdaq trading.

Cisco (up $0.12 to $27.50, Charts) and Apple Computer (up $0.38 to $89.58, Charts) said late Wednesday that they have reached an agreement so that both can use the iPhone name, sending both stocks higher Thursday. (Full story).

Toll Brothers (down $0.46 to $32.40, Charts) reported sharply lower fiscal first quarter profit, reflecting the ongoing collapse of the housing market. The largest U.S. builder of luxury homes also lowered its fiscal 2007 forecast. Shares inched lower after having seesawed through the morning.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners edged losers on volume of 400 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers and decliners were roughly even on volume of 605 million shares.

In other news, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment last week fell 27,000 to 332,000, a smaller than expected decline.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose 43 cents to $60.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the weekly oil inventories report showed a large drop in gasoline and oil inventories.

COMEX gold for April delivery fell $4.30 to $679.70 an ounce.

Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.71 percent from 4.68 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.

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