Stocks were mixed Thursday after earnings reports from General Motors Corp. and Merck Co. Inc. pushed the Dow Jones industrial average higher while the Nasdaq composite sagged along with eBay Inc.
In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.77, or 0.72 percent, to 11,359.54. Broader stock indicators were barely mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.53, or 0.27 percent, to 1,313.46, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 6.65, or 0.28 percent, to 2,364.23. Declining issues led advancers by more than 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange.
