U.S. stocks were little changed at midday Thursday, while oil prices fell more than 3 percent. Investors considered two U.S. reports that showed healthy hiring. Jobless claims fell last week and remain at historically low levels, while private-sector employers added a solid number of positions in June. Oil prices fell after the U.S. government said inventories remained historically high and did not decrease by as much as investors expected. The Energy Department said crude supplies shrank by 2.2 million barrels last week, less than the 2.6 million expected by analysts. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 3.3 percent to near $45.85 a barrel in early-afternoon trade on the U.S. Mercantile Exchange. Gold, which is trading at its highest price in more than two years, fell slightly. The U.S. dollar fell versus the yen and rose versus the euro. The British pound remained near 30-year lows. Chemical stocks traded higher, but investors were selling utility and telephone company stocks, safe assets they have favored since Britain's vote to exit the European Union. The Dow Jones industrial average was down nearly 0.2 percent in early-afternoon trade on Wall Street. Seventeen of the index's 30 components were lower, led by telecommunications giant Verizon. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.1 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 0.1 percent. Hard-drive maker Western Digital forecast stronger results for its current quarter after it acquired flash-memory chipmaker SanDisk in May. Its stock was up 5 percent. Dutch anti-virus software company AVG Technologies jumped after rival Avast Software agreed to buy it for $1.3 billion. AVG stock surged more than 30 percent.
