Stocks struggle for direction as Greece languishes


February 17, 2012 at 1:15p.m.

Stocks struggle for direction as Greece languishes

NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market is struggling for direction as Greece’s debt talks idle and U.S. inflation comes in at expected levels.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose as much as 49 points in early trading today, then gave up some of those gains. It’s up 29 points to 12,933 at midday. That puts the Dow tantalizing close to the 13,000 mark, a milestone it hasn’t reached since May 2008.

It was a quiet session compared to Thursday, when the Dow soared 123 points to close at its highest level so far this year.

The S&P 500 is up 1 point to 1,359. The Nasdaq composite is down 11 to 2,949. H.J. Heinz and Campbell Soup rose after beating analysts’ expectations.