How the major stock indexes fared on Thursday Stocks were nearly flat on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average had a tiny decline, while other indexes rose. Investors started the day worried about Europe, but positive jobs data in the U.S. and a strong run by financial stocks helped indexes climb back to break-even by the end of the day. It was the second flattish day in a row, after a 180-point rise in the Dow opened 2012. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.72 points, or 0.02 percent, at 12,415.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 3.76 points, or 0.3 percent, at 1,281.06. The Nasdaq rose 21.5 points, or 2.5 percent, to 2,669.86. The Dow has risen 198.14 points, or 1.6 percent. The S&P 500 has risen 23.46 points, or 1.9 percent. The Nasdaq has risen 64.71 points, or 2.5 percent.