By Samantha Pearson in New York
Published: January 21 2010 15:41 | Last updated: January 21 2010 15:41
US stocks struggled to push higher on Thursday after an unexpected jump in claims for unemployment benefits overshadowed encouraging results from Ebay.
Less than an hour after the opening bell, the S&P 500 was flat at 1,137.80, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 0.2 per cent to 10,578.36 but the Nasdaq was 0.4 per cent higher at 2,300.11.
