US stocks mixed in choppy trade

US stocks closed fairly flat Wednesday after a choppy day of trading, with some positive earnings reports providing support.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.22 points (0.05 percent) to 13,986.52.

The S&P 500 rose 0.83 (0.05 percent) to 1,512.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 3.10 (0.10 percent) to 3,168.48.

After opening lower, stocks recovered thanks to a string of earnings reports, which is "helping foster some of the resiliency," said Charles Schwab & Co. in a note.

Investors gave mixed reviews to acquisitions.

Both Liberty Global and Virgin Media dropped following the announcement that Liberty would acquire Virgin for $16 billion, in a deal that values Virgin at $23.3 billion. Liberty fell 2.7 percent while Virgin, which surged Tuesday on expectations of the announcement, lost 1.6 percent.

Biotechnology company Biogen Idec jumped 2.3 percent on news that it bought Irish partner Elan's stake in multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri for $3.25 billion.

Dow component Walt Disney Company rose 0.4 percent after reporting earnings that bested expectations and announcing that it plans additional offerings in the popular "Star Wars" film series.

Time Warner picked up 4.1 percent after earnings were better than expected and the company announced plans to raise its dividend.

But CVS Caremark closed 0.9 percent lower despite topping estimates and raising its full-year profit outlook.

National Oilwell Varco closed lower for the fourth session in a row, this time falling by 2.4 percent. Some analysts have said the oil services company is fully valued and seems headed for a retreat.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.97 percent from 2.02 percent late Tuesday. The yield on the 30-year Treasury dropped to 3.18 percent from 3.22 percent.

Bond prices and yields move inversely.