Wall Street little changed at the close

U.S. stock indices closed mixed on Thursday after hitting record highs earlier this week, which follows earlier U.S. data that showed rises in building permits and housing starts in January, while the Philly manufacturing index surged unexpectedly in February, as unemployment claims rose less than expected last week.
 
Dow Jones added 0.04%, or 7.91 points to 20,619.77, while Standard and Poor's 500 inched down 0.09%, or 2.03 points to 2,347.22. NASDAQ Composite lost 0.08%, or 4.54 points to 5,814.90.
 
Gold futures due on April 15 rose 0.73% to $1,242.10 an ounce from the opening of $1,233.10, while the dollar index tumbled 0.68% to 100.49 from the opening of 100.96, marching farther away from a five-week high hit yesterday
 
On another note, U.S. crude futures due on March 16 rose 0.53% to $53.39 a barrel from the opening price of $53.11, while Brent crude futures due on April 15 shed 0.07% to $55.71 a barrel from the opening of $55.75.