US Stocks: Wednesday's unofficial close

US stocks barely moved above the unchanged mark on Wednesday as crude oil prices touched a record over $52 per barrel, boosting oil stocks.
Merck & Co pulled on the blue-chip Dow average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index after The Wall Street Journal reported that Merck's drug Vioxx may have led to more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths before it was withdrawn, suggesting the company may face increased legal liability.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 7 points, or 0.07 percent, at 10,185. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1 point, or 0.13 percent, at 1,136. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up only 0.46 of a point, or 0.02 percent, at 1,956.