Stocks: Choppy day as jitters persist

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks churned to end slightly higher Thursday, as investors weighed three disappointing economic reports against a backdrop of ongoing support from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) rose 45 points, or 0.4%.

American Express (AXP, Fortune 500), McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) and Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) led the gains, but a 1.4% drop in shares of Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) weighed on the blue-chip index.

The S&P 500 (SPX) inched up 3 points, or 0.2%, but sinking shares of Big Lots (BIG, Fortune 500) weighed on the broad index. The big box discount retailer's stock tumbled 10.5% after it said it was not up for sale, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) edged up 8 points, or 0.3%. Chinese Internet company Baidu (BIDU) and Dollar Tree (DLTR, Fortune 500) were among the best performers, but Sears Holdings (SHLD, Fortune 500) dragged on the tech-heavy index. Shares fell nearly 3% after the retailer announced a net loss of $170 million for the quarter. Sears blamed bad weather and the weak economy.

Stocks have been flipping between small gains and losses as investors weigh mixed economic reports.

While the weekly report on jobless claims came in better than expected, a sharp drop in manufacturing activity tempered the mood.

The Philadelphia Fed index, a regional reading, fell to 3.9 in May from 18.5 the prior month. That was the lowest level since October and much worse than economists were expecting.

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"The Philly Fed number was shockingly bad and is causing some weakness in the market," said Tom Schrader, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus. "I think a report like that puts question marks on the strength of the economic recovery and turns investors cautious."

Reports on the housing market and leading economic indicators were also disappointing.

But the market found some support as investors considered that the Federal Reserve will likely continue to support the market, even after its $600 billion bond-buying program expires at the end of June.

"We got a lot of bad economic news today, and it's amazing that the market's aren't down," said Joseph Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themid Trading. "But investors are convinced that the Fed has their backs."

Saluzzi said the minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting, which were released Wednesday, confirmed that the central bank is not in any rush to execute an exit plan.

Stocks pushed higher Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 snapping a three-session losing streak.

Economy: A report from the National Association of Realtors showed that existing home sales fell 0.8% in April to an annual rate of 5.05 million. Economists polled by Briefing.com were looking for resales to increase to an annual rate of 5.23 million.

The April index on leading economic indicators slipped 0.3%, following a 0.4% rise the month before. Economists were expecting no change.

Companies: Shares of LinkedIn (LNKD) more than doubled from their IPO price in early trading as the LinkedIn's stock debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. LinkedIn priced its initial public offering at $45 a share late Wednesday, valuing the company at $4.25 billion, and making it one of the largest tech IPOs since Google (GOOG, Fortune 500).

Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO, Fortune 500) jumped 4.2% after the lab equipment manufacturer announced a $3.5 billion acquisition.

World markets: European stocks rose. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.6%, the DAX in Germany gained 0.8% and France's CAC 40 rose 1.3%.

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In Asia, Japan's GDP declined at a 3.7% annual rate in the first quarter, indicating a recession.

Asian markets ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite slid 0.5% and Japan's Nikkei shaved 0.4%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.7%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar was flat against the euro and the British pound, but rose versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for June delivery fell $1.66, or 1.7%, to settle at $98.44 a barrel. The contract for June oil settles Friday.

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Gold futures for June delivery fell $3.40, or 0.2%, to $1,493 an ounce.

Silver futures for July delivery slipped 17 cents, or 0.5%, to $34.93 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was flat, and the yield held steady at 3.17%.

In recent weeks, the yield on the benchmark Treasury has been moving closer to 3% than 4%, a sign of investor concern about a slowdown in the economy.