Wall Street edged up on Thursday, retreating from session highs as investors were wary of betting aggressively after the S&P 500's worst five-day stretch since May and the data sent more tepid signals on the economy. Business investment showed signs of stalling in September, while overall US durable goods orders rose more than expected, though orders excluding volatile defence goods and aircraft were unchanged.
Shares of Dow component Procter & Gamble stood out, gaining 3.4 percent to $70.41 after the world's largest household products maker reported a better-than-expected profit. The broad S&P 500 fell more than 3 percent over the last five sessions following a weak string of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 10.79 points, or 0.08 percent, to 13,088.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 3.32 points, or 0.24 percent, to 1,412.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.94 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,984.63. The S&P telecom sector index slipped 0.3 percent, with AT&T shedding 0.6 percent to $34.50. Among tech stocks, Apple lost 1.1 percent to $609.80 ahead of results expected after the closing bell.