Stocks flat ending as earnings from blue chips disappoint

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ending flat after a round of disappointing corporate earnings and another drop in home prices.

3M and Johnson & Johnson fell about 2 percent after announcing lower income for the last quarter.

Prices fell in 19 out of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard and Poor’s

Case Shiller home price in November.

At the market close, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 3 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,977. The Dow had been down as many as 82 points earlier.

The S&P 500 is up less than a point to 1,291.18. The Nasdaq gained 2, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,719.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1 billion shares.