US stock indexes waver in late-afternoon trading

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Trader Sal Suarino, left, and specialist Anthony Matesic work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, March 5, 2019. Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street led by losses in banks and technology companies. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

U.S. stock indexes wavered between small gains and losses late Tuesday afternoon as gains in communications companies and retailers offset losses elsewhere in the market.

The indexes spent much of the day flat or slightly lower. The stagnant trading came a day after the market failed to hold on to an early gain. Facebook rose 2.2 percent, while Target climbed 4.6 percent.

Target and Kohl's led retailers higher after reporting results that were better than analysts were expecting.

Homebuilders declined broadly after the government reported that sales of new U.S. homes rose in December from the previous month, but also declined from a year earlier.

Papa John's International rose after reaching a settlement with founder John Schnatter that calls for him step down from the board once an independent director replaces him.

Investors were hoping that more details would emerge from media reports Monday that the U.S. and China were getting closer to resolving their trade dispute. The market has often jumped on hopes that progress was being made on the trade talks, only to fall back later as details didn't come through.

Meanwhile, China plans to take additional measures to help shore up its cooling economy. The nation's growth target for the year is now between 6 percent and 6.5 percent. That's slightly below last year's 6.6 percent growth rate.

THE QUOTE: Stock prices already reflect the recent investor optimism that the U.S. and China are close to reaching a deal to resolve their costly trade dispute, noted Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

"We'll know those details when they're announced," he said. "That's part of what the market is digesting at this point in time."

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,833 as of 3:13 p.m. Eastern Time. The S&P 500 index was little changed, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 percent. Major indexes in Europe finished higher.

MIXED REPORT: The Commerce Department said sales of new U.S. homes rose 3.7 percent in December, the highest pace in seven months. Even so, sales were down from a year earlier. Homebuilders declined following the release of the report. Meritage Homes slid 3.7 percent.

UPSIDE DOWN SMILE: Align Technology slid 6.3 percent on news that the dental products company will close all its Invisalign stores and expects a charge in the first quarter.

RETAIL RISING: Target gained 4.6 after the retailer surprised investors with its fourth-quarter results and forecast.

The company noted strong online sales and traffic growth during the crucial holiday sales quarter. Target and its peers had to deal with an overall slowdown in retail sales at the end of 2018 while also competing with e-commerce behemoth Amazon.

Kohl's jumped 7.2 percent following a similarly upbeat fourth-quarter report and forecast.

PIZZA'S UP: Papa John's International climbed 5.2 percent after the company reached a settlement with founder John Schnatter that includes him resigning from the board of directors.

The company has been floundering since Schnatter took a series of missteps, first blaming disappointing sales on NFL player protests and then using a racial slur during a company conference call. He stepped down as CEO in 2017 and later resigned as chairman of the board.

ICAHN OUT: Shares in Hertz Global Holdings slumped 12.5 percent after activist investor Carl Icahn cut his holdings in the car rental company after it reported upbeat fourth-quarter results.