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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq were both flat. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%.
After progress earlier this week in talks over spending cuts and tax hikes, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner butted heads Wednesday, ahead of the looming deadline for an agreement.
Lawmakers in the House will vote Thursday on Plan B, a GOP version of an agreement on the fiscal cliff. The White House has already threatened to veto that plan, saying it would bring only "minimal" changes in projected budget deficits.
"Time is running out," said Kevin Giddis, head of fixed-income at Morgan Keegan, a division of Raymond James. "Uncertainty is the Achilles heel for most of our markets and that is why we are seeing so much disruption and fatigue in our daily trading."
As has been the case recently, the fiscal cliff continued to trump economic fundamentals.
The government released its final estimate of third-quarter GDP growth -- a 3.1% annual rate, much faster than the 1.3% rate in the second quarter. In other economic news, jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 361,000 in the latest week.
New home sales rose 5.9% in November to an annual rate of 5.04 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. It was the highest sales rate since November 2009.
Manufacturing activity in the area around Philadelphia rebounded in December, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The Philly Fed index rose to reading of 8.1 for the month, up from a negative 10.7 in November.
On the corporate front, shares of NYSE Euronext (NYX) surged 37% after the operator of the New York Stock Exchange agreed to be bought by IntercontinentalExchange Inc (ICE) for $8.2 billion in cash and stock.
KB Home (KBH) shares fell after the homebuilder reported quarterly earnings that declined over the past year.
Meanwhile, Rite Aid (RAD, Fortune 500) stock soared after the company reported its first profit in more than five years.
Used car retailer CarMax (KMX, Fortune 500) reported strong quarterly results, sending shares higher in early trading.
Related: Fortune 500: Worst-performing stocks of 2012
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY, Fortune 500) shares slipped after the retailer offered weak guidance when it reported quarterly results late Wednesday.
Also late Wednesday, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) announced it will sell its Motorola Mobility Home division, which includes cable set-top boxes and modems, to Arris (ARRS) for $2.35 billion. Arris stock rose about 7%, while Google ticked slightly higher.
After the closing bell Thursday, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM) will announce its quarterly results. Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) will also release its latest earnings.
Fear & Greed Index
European markets were slightly higher in midday trading.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended mixed, with Shanghai and Hong Kong posting gains and the Nikkei retreating after the Bank of Japan announced a widely anticipated extension of its bond-buying program.
The dollar was weaker against most major currencies. Oil and Gold prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.77% from 1.8% on Wednesday. 
First Published: December 20, 2012: 9:42 AM ET
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