Analysts said investors who had sent stocks to 16-month highs in recent days on expectations of a strong earnings season needed more incentives to make big stock purchases.

"On balance, the earnings have been what Wall Street expected. That’s good, but not enough to get the market moving," said Matt Brown, head of equity management at Wilmington Trust. "To get the market up, you need to see a lot of companies beat expectations. Maybe that will happen in the next quarter."

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 11.33, or 0.1 percent, at 9,791.72, having slipped 9.93 in the previous session.

The broader market finished higher, after some softness earlier in the day. The Nasdaq composite index rose 11.04, or 0.6 percent, to 1,950.14. It was the highest finish since January 17, 2002, when the tech-focused index stood at 1,985.82.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 3.31, or 0.3 percent, to 1,050.07. It was the highest close since May 31, 2002, when the index stood at 1,067.14.

Dow industrial International Business Machines Corp. dropped $3.46 to $89.28 after the computer company reported earnings that met analysts’ forecasts; however, its revenue fell short of estimates.

Among other companies reporting earnings, Ford Motor Co., rose 20 cents to $12.34 after the automaker reported a narrower third-quarter loss, citing good results from its financial services arm.

Coca-Cola Co. fell 10 cents to $45 after reporting quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations.

Stocks have climbed to 16-month highs in recent days on investor expectations of a strong third-quarter earnings season. But analysts caution that the market remains vulnerable to pullbacks as some investors wonder if stocks might be overvalued.

Market sentiment is "sloppy," said David Phillips, an equity analyst at Eastover Capital. "I can’t find a consistency in it. Thus, we have these days like today and yesterday where the market swings between back and forth over neutral all day. There’s really no leadership."

A pair of mixed economic reports had little effect on trading.

The Commerce Department reported today that consumer prices rose by 0.3 percent in September. The reading was slightly stronger than the 0.2 percent rise analysts were expecting and should relieve some concerns about deflation, or a dangerous slide in prices, although it could fan fears about inflation.

Meanwhile, the department said separately that new jobless claims fell last week by a seasonally adjusted 4,000 to 384,000. It represented a decline for the second week in a row and was the lowest level since early February; the reading also beat analysts’ forecasts.