Wednesday's afternoon trade: stocks little changed

US stocks were little changed on Wednesday in light trading, as there were few signals to push shares in either direction one day after the benchmark S&P 500 closed above 1,400 for the first time in more than three months. Expectations for action from the European Central Bank and US Federal Reserve triggered a recent rally in equities, with the S&P 500 up for five consecutive weeks.
Economic data still points to lacklustre demand worldwide, and European central banks are projecting poor growth for coming quarters. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.97 points, or 0.01 percent, at 13,166.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.54 points, or 0.04 percent, at 1,400.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.70 points, or 0.12 percent, at 3,012.16.