Stocks f inish mostly f lat

U.S. indexes barely budged Thursday as the market’s three-day winning streak stalled.

U.S. stock indexes barely budged Thursday as the market’s three-day winning streak stalled.

The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished essentially flat as declines by communications, industrial and healthcare stocks outweighed gains by financial and technology companies. Several retailers and home builders also declined.

Reports of a criminal investigation into Facebook’s data-sharing practices weighed on the social media giant’s shares.

The market was coming off a solid three-day rally as it reclaimed some of the momentum it had in January and February.

Investors are still waiting for some more news on U.S.China trade negotiations before they feel comfortable pushing the market much higher. Media reports had stoked hope that a summit would take place this month, but no concrete announcement has been made.

Despite some softness over the last few weeks, U.S. stocks are still considered a haven relative to the rest of the world, said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

“We’re still the lead sled dogs here. We’re pulling the global economy along,” he said.

The S&P 500 index slipped 2.44 points, or 0.1%, to 2,808.48. The Dow Jones industrial average inched up 7.05 points, or less than 0.1%, to 25,709.94. The Nasdaq composite edged down 12.50 points, or 0.2%, to 7,630.91. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 6.25 points, or 0.4%, to 1,549.64.

All four indexes are showing double-digit gains for the year.

Take-Two Interactive Software declined 3.8% on Thursday, leading a slide in communications companies.

Facebook fell 1.8% after the New York Times reported that the company’s data-sharing practices are under criminal investigation.

Retailers were among the big decliners Thursday. Tailored Brands plunged 25.1% after giving investors a surprisingly weak first-quarter profit forecast.

L Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works, slid 3.1%. Gap fell 1.8%.

Dollar General slumped 7.5%. Rival Dollar Tree dropped 1.9%.

Snap, the creator of message app Snapchat, jumped 12.2% after BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield expressed optimism about it.

The Commerce Department said sales of new U.S. homes slumped 6.9% in January and sales prices slid 3.8%. Home builder stocks mostly fell after the report. Hovnanian Enterprises dropped 2.5%.

Technology companies and banks led the gainers. Apple rose 1.1%. Wells Fargo rose 0.9%.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.63% from 2.61%.

The dollar strengthened to 111.73 yen from 111.05 yen. The euro fell to $1.1300 from $1.1329.

U.S. crude oil rose 0.6% to $58.61 a barrel. Brent crude fell 0.5% to $67.23 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 0.4% to $1.85 a gallon. Heating oil fell 0.4% to $1.98 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1.2% to $2.86 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell 1.1% to $1,295.10 an ounce. Silver fell 1.8% to $15.17 an ounce. Copper fell 1.5% to $2.89 a pound.