US stocks flat ahead of jobs report

New York - US stocks treaded water on Thursday ahead of a key US jobs report while Twitter plunged on reports of fading interest from potential acquirers and Wal-Mart stumbled on a weak forecast.

Twitter plunged 20.1% after technology news site Recode reported that Google, Apple and Disney either decided not to bid for Twitter, or viewed an offer as highly unlikely.

Dow member Wal-Mart Stores lost 3.2% after it projected that fiscal 2018 earnings would be flat while it boosts investment in e-commerce.

Analysts said the broader market was in wait-and-see mode ahead of Friday's US jobs report. Analysts have projected the economy added 176 000 jobs last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1% at 18 268.50.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.1% at 2 160.77, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.2% to 5 306.85.

Among Dow components, Apple rose 0.9%, DuPont 1.4% and Home Depot 1.9%.

But American Express, another company in the blue-chip index, sank 3.8% after Nomura dealt it a downgrade, saying it expects Amex to lose more market share through at least 2017 as it faces stiffening competition.

Mylan tumbled 3.1% after it was accused by two lawmakers of overcharging the government for its Epipen allergy medication.

Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Frank Pallone, both Democrats, released a letter from the federal health programme saying Mylan misclassified Epipens as a generic drug, resulting in higher cost to the government under the federal Medicaid and Medicare programmes.