The US stocks traded in a tight range in the morning session on Thursday, as investors assessed quarterly earnings from big banks amid economic data.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28.87 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,937.15. The S&P 500 rose 2.21 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,084.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index ticked up 0.81 points, or 0.02 percent, to 4,948.23, Xinhua news agency reported.
Bank of America reported on Thursday quarterly net income of $2.7 billion, or 21 cents per diluted share, worse than expected.
Wells Fargo posted quarterly net income of $5.5 billion, compared with $5.8 billion in first quarter 2015. Its diluted earnings per share were 99 cents, compared with $1.04 in the same period last year. Shares of Wells Fargo edged up 0.24 percent around midday trading.
On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increased 0.1 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the US Labour Department said on Thursday.
The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent in March after rising 0.3 percent in February.
In a separate report, in the week ending April 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 253,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level.