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US stocks mixed after good economic data, Apple results

US stocks were mixed in early trade Thursday following a good report on US durable goods and strong earnings from Apple and some other big companies.

About 50 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.58 (0.08 percent) to 16,489.07.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged higher by 0.36 (0.02 percent) at 1,875.75, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 4.02 (0.10 percent) to 4,130.99.

Stocks intially opened higher Thursday and quickly veered into negative territory before fighting back to near-even.

Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities, said traders are reacting to heightened tensions over the Ukraine, as Russia ordered new military exercises in regions bordering the country.

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James said investors remain jittery about the market in general following recent volatility. "Any sign of weakness will trigger more selling," he said.

Apple rose 7.6 percent following a series of shareholder-friendly measures that accompanied earnings that beat expectations by a wide margin. The company unveiled a dividend increase, a ramp-up in stock buybacks and a seven-for-one stock split.

The market was also cheered by a strong report on US durable goods orders Thursday, which rose in March by 2.6 percent to $234.8 billion.

That was well above the analyst estimate for a 2.0 percent increase, thanks to commercial aircraft, communications equipment, primary metals and computers.

Dow component Caterpillar reported earnings of $1.44 per share, 18 cents better than analyst forecasts as better performance in its energy, transportation and construction sectors made up for continued weakness in the mining sector. The company also boosted its forecast for 2014 earnings. Shares rose 2.5 percent.

Earnings at General Motors plunged 85 percent on a $1.3 billion charge for recalling seven million vehicles worldwide. But earnings per share bested Wall Street expectations by two cents at six cents per share. Shares rose 2.1 percent.

Facebook earnings tripled to $642 million on strong gains in mobile users and mobile advertising. Shares rose 0.8 percent.

Zimmer Holdings surged 15.1 percent after announcing a deal to acquire Biomet for $13.35 billion. The deal will combine two makers or orthopedic devices aimed at capitalizing on growing demand in an ageing population.

Bond prices were unchanged. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury held steady at 2.69 percent, the same level as Wednesday. The 30-year was also flat at 3.47 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.