US stocks barely budged on Thursday as investors exercised caution in the wake of the Federal Reserve's policy announcement and some encouraging economic data. The central bank said on Wednesday that it will keep buying $85 billion of bonds per month, noting weaker economic signals resulting from the partial government shutdown earlier in October.
Visa Inc lost 2.9 percent to $197.86, making it the biggest drag on both the Dow and the S&P 500 a day after the world's largest credit and debit card company reported a 28 percent drop in quarterly profit.
The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 2.87 points, or 0.02 percent, to 15,621.63. The S&P 500 added 2.21 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,765.52. The Nasdaq Composite rose 9.16 points or 0.23 percent, to 3,939.78.
The Dow has gained about 3 percent in October, while the S&P 500 had advanced nearly 5 percent and the Nasdaq has added about 4 percent.
Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp, one of the largest US companies by market capitalisation, rose 1.6 percent to $90.20 after the company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings that beat expectations.
Facebook reported strong growth in its mobile advertising business late on Wednesday, though it said it didn't plan to boost the frequency of ads shown to users. Facebook's stock shot up 4 percent to $50.97.
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