Big-name companies reported higher quarterly earnings, and the government reported that the jobless claims are falling and that the economy did better last year than first expected. But Washington's budget battle cast a pall over the market, with spending cuts set to automatically kick in Friday and no sign that the two political parties might work out their differences beforehand.

The Dow Jones industrial average darted between small gains and losses in early trading. At mid-morning, it was down three to 14,072. That tamped down some of the buzz from the last two days about when it might top its record high. The Dow hit its highest point, 14,164.53, in October 2007, before the effects of the financial crisis had manifested themselves.

Also at midmorning, the Standard & Poor's 500 was up two at 1,518. The Nasdaq composite edged up five to 3,167.