NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks traded flat Thursday as strong profit reports from names like Apple Inc. and 3M Corp. failed to galvanize Wall Street a day after the Dow Jones industrials crossed the 13,000 mark.

Investors often tread water and reassess valuations after stocks push through technical or psychological barriers, such as the Dow’s ascent past 13,000 Wednesday. Beyond the Dow’s move, investors were also keeping watch over the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, which has in recent sessions crept closer to its high of 1,527.46, reached in March 2000.

Better-than-expected profit news, which helped vault the Dow into record territory Wednesday and to a new trading high early Thursday, continued but with less effect than on Wednesday.

Apple said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose 88 percent amid robust sales of iPods and Macintosh computers. Reports from Dow component 3M and automaker Ford Motor Co. also pleased investors.

“Once you go through what people consider a milestone you are often going to have a little rest,” said Ron Kiddoo, chief investment officer at Cozad Asset Management. “Earnings are lending support to the market. Obviously, there are some disappointments, but they’re much above what people were expecting.”

In early afternoon trading, the Dow rose 13.58, or 0.10 percent, to 13,103.47 after hitting a fresh trading high of 13,122.40. After Wednesday’s move, the Dow is up more than 5 percent on the year.

Broader indexes were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 0.90, or 0.06 percent, to 1,494.52, while the Nasdaq composite index climbed 4.86, or 0.19 percent, to 2,552.75.

Bonds fell, with yield on the 10-year note rising to 4.68 percent from 4.65 percent late Wednesday.

The Dow swept past its latest milestone Wednesday amid better-than-expected earnings and economic data, posting its 17th rise of the past 19 trading sessions. After picking up more than 780 points in that time, the question on investors’ minds is whether upcoming data will prove the steep climb was justified, or overdone.

So far, 21 of the 30 Dow components have reported earnings, with 15 of those reports exceeding expectations. Dow component Exxon Mobil Corp. released better-than-expected earnings Thursday; it rose 76 cents to $80.68. After the market closes, another Dow component and tech leader Microsoft Corp. will release its financial results. Microsoft rose 15 cents to $29.14.

In other corporate news, Apple’s profit report beat analysts’ estimates, and the stock at times surpassed $100 a share. Apple rose $4.96, or 5.2 percent, to $100.31.

3M reported a profit gain that was higher than Street estimates and rose $3.67, or 4.8 percent, to $80.64. Ford, meanwhile, reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter. Ford rose 29 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $8.17.

Wendy’s International Inc. said late Wednesday it is considering a possible sale of the company, among other options. The burger chain rose $5.26, or 16.1 percent, to $37.94.

Covansys Corp. rose $6.50, or 24.3 percent, to $33.30 after the provider of information-technology services agreed to be acquired by Computer Sciences Corp. for $1.3 billion.

Harman International Industries Inc., which makes audio equipment, agreed to be taken private in an $8 billion deal. The company, which also said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 11 percent, jumped $20.13, or 19.6 percent, to $122.69.

A light flow of economic news Thursday didn’t appear to hold much sway over stocks. Among the reports, the Labor Department said applications for jobless benefits fell last week by 20,000, the biggest decrease in nearly two months.

The Chicago Federal Reserve said its index of Midwest manufacturing activity rose 0.8% in March.

Investors also seemed unmoved by comments from Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher Thursday that treasury yields don’t portend a coming recession.

Friday will bring more weighty data for investors, who are especially interested in the Commerce Department’s initial estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product.

Gold fell on Thursday, and the dollar rose slightly.

Light sweet crude rose 40 cents to $66.24 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Declining issues led advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 939.1 million shares.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.12 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.12 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.60 percent, and France’s CAC-40 ended down 0.05 percent.

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