The S&P 500 rose 2.59 points, or 0.1%, to 3,096.63.

Cisco Systems Inc fell 7.5% after the network gear maker said current-quarter revenue would drop 3% to 5% amid declining global spending on its routers and switches, some of which are made in China.

Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities told AFP the markets needed positive news in the trade talks to continue gains.

The stock indexes had an uneventful open as weak data from China and Germany rekindled worries of growth concerns due to a prolonged U.S.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the trading session down 1.6 points, or less than 0.1%, to 27782 after the blue-chip index bobbed around the flat line earlier in the session. The Nasdaq down 3 points, less than 0.1%, to 8,482d.

YIELDS: Treasury yields continued to fall as demand for bonds increased, driving their prices higher.

Cisco's share decline weighed the most on the major indexes and helped drag the technology sector down 0.3%.

US stocks dipped on Thursday, weighed down by technology shares after Cisco's weak forecast raised worries of a slowdown in global economic growth, overshadowing strong results from big box retailer Walmart.

Aside from that, a Wall Street Journal report published during midday United States trading on Wednesday (November 13th) had revealed that a promised purchase of U.S. farm goods by China worth of $20 billion as part of a Phase One trade deal had hit a hitch, casting fresh clouds over an ongoing dispute between the world's first- and second-largest economy, which had been keeping the global money markets shivering for more than 16 months.

Memphis declares Wiseman ineligible after freshman withdraws lawsuit
After the legal action, the Tigers proudly put Wiseman at center stage in the starting lineup of a rout of Illinois-Chicago. NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn declined to comment Thursday when contacted by The Associated Press about Wiseman's case.

Todd Phillips Is Open to Making a 'Joker' Sequel
In case the film manages to cross the $ 1 billion mark worldwide by next week, it will have become the cheapest film to do so. There are a few very solid reasons not to make another Joker , and approximately 1 billion reasons to do it.

U.S. calls on Seoul to pay more on USA troops presence
South Korea, Esper said, "is a wealthy country and could and should pay more" for the US military deployment. He said his country was prepared to pay a "fair and reasonable" amount.

China said on Thursday the two sides were holding "in-depth" trade discussions, and cancelling tariffs was an important condition to reaching a deal.

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,991.48 for a gain of 5.02 points or 0.25%; the S&P 100 at 1,378.39 for a loss of 0.45 points or -0.033%; the Nasdaq 100 at 8,257.83 for a loss of 1.98 points or -0.024%; the Russell 3000 at 1,813.45 for a gain of 1.69 points or 0.093%; the Russell 1000 at 1,710.65 for a gain of 1.71 points or 0.10%; the Wilshire 5000 at 31,630.79 for a gain of 27.29 points or 0.086%; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 737.71 for a loss of 0.100 points or -0.014%.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.87%.

Wall Street capped a wobbly day for stocks with another record-setting finish Wednesday.

Walmart Inc posted robust same-store sales growth and profit, while also raising its full-year earnings forecast.

POWELL SPEAKS: In a written statement to Congress' Joint Economic Committee, Powell said Wednesday that the central bank is unlikely to cut rates unless the economy slows enough to cause Fed policymakers to make a "material reassessment" of their outlook.

The S&P 500 fell less than 1 point to 3,093.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 17 points, or 0.1%, to 27,674.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2%, led by declines in auto makers.