Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses.

Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than

Following a robust Christmas Eve performance, the stock market experienced a subdued session on Thursday, as mixed jobless claims data provided little impetus for significant moves. The S&P 500, while managing to claw back some of its earlier losses,