U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed Thursday after the S&P 500 touched a new intraday record. In U.S. economic news, The Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories rose a more-than-expected 7.7 million barrels. Earlier, oil prices declined on an American Petroleum Institute report that U.S. crude stocks rose by 14.3 million barrels last week. Other reports saw lower-than-expected jobless claims number and a wage increases at Wal-Mart. In international economic news, Germany rejected the new anti-austerity Greek government's application for a six-month extension of its loan and a renegotiation of some its terms. European markets pared gains on the news. The dollar traded lower against major world currencies. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery fell 98 cents to $51.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures added $6.90 to $1,207.10 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 44.08, or 0.24 percent, to 17,985.77. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 2.23, or 0.11 percent, to 2,097.45. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 18.34, or 0.37 percent, to 4,924.70.
