US stock market limps to a mixed close

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are limping to a mixed close as the market stabilizes after three straight drops.

Major U.S. indexes recovered from an early slide and finished the day more or less where they started.

At the closing bell the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up just one one-hundredth of a point at 1,946 Thursday, essentially unchanged from the day before.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged down three points to 16,801.

The Nasdaq rose eight points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,430.

The poor start to the week means indexes are still on track for the worst week since early August. The S&P 500 is down 3 percent since closing at a record high Sept. 18.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.44 percent.