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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 were little changed, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.1%.
On the positive side, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment claims fell by 27,000 to 341,000 in the latest week. Economists were expecting 365,000 claims.
Thursday also brought a slew of merger news.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, Fortune 500) and 3G Capital agreed to buy Heinz (HNZ, Fortune 500) for $28 billion. Shares of the ketchup-maker spiked 20%. Shares of fellow food company Campbell Soup (CPB, Fortune 500) jumped 4%.
US Airways (LCC, Fortune 500) and American Airlines parent AMR (AAMRQ, Fortune 500) officially announced an $11 billion deal to create the world's largest airline. Shares of US Airways dipped.
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But investors were cautious after data showed the eurozone suffered its third consecutive quarter of declining growth at the end of 2012. Performances in all four of the region's biggest economies -- Germany, France, Italy and Spain -- also deteriorated compared with the third quarter of 2012.
Plus, after a strong start to the year, it's not unusual for stocks to take a breather. Even with the recent slips and slides, the Dow is within 1.5% of its all-time high, hit in October 2007, and the S&P 500 is about 4% shy of its record high, also set in October 2007. And all three indexes are up between 6% and 7% for the year.
As long as economic news continues to point to modest growth, stocks should keep advancing and reach new highs as investors continue to make their way back into the stock market, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
"There's a lot of money on the sidelines that is seeking a home," said Cardillo. "And the bottom line is that stocks prevail over bonds in an environment where interest rates are so low."
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In earnings news Thursday, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) released quarterly results that missed expectations, sending shares lower. PepsiCo (PEP, Fortune 500) shares gained after the beverage maker logged better-than-expected earnings.
Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) shares declined 1%, dragging on the Dow, after Cisco CEO John Chambers took a cautious tone with his outlook as the company reported earnings roughly in line with forecasts. Shares of Mondelez (MDLZ) sank almost 3% after the food producer logged earnings that missed expectations after the close on Wednesday.
As of Wednesday, 65% of the companies in the S&P 500 that had reported fourth-quarter earnings came in ahead of analysts' expectations, according to S&P Capital IQ. But the bulk of companies that have issued guidance for the first quarter had a negative outlook.
In other corporate news, shares of Constellation Brands (STZ) surged 35% after Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) agreed to give up key assets in an effort to address antitrust issues related to is proposed takeover of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo.
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European markets drifted lower in afternoon trading, after the weaker-than-expected GDP figures.
Asian markets ended higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.9% as traders returned from an extended holiday.
The Nikkei added 0.5% despite data showing Japan's economy has contracted in each of the three most recent quarters. The weak performance is likely to increase the clamor for more aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus measures.
The Shanghai exchange was closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The dollar rose against the euro and the British pound, but slipped versus the Japanese yen.
Oil prices edged higher, while gold prices fell.
The price on the 10-year Treasury rose, sending the yield down to 2.04% from 2.02% late Wednesday. 
First Published: February 14, 2013: 9:58 AM ET
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