There was little change in stocks on Thursday, as optimism about technology profits helped cancel out worries about how much the credit crunch has hurt the economy, after disappointing earnings from Bank of America.

In economic news, the Labor Department reports applications for unemployment benefits hit 337,000 last week, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week. It's the biggest one-week surge since jobless claims jumped in February.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators, rose 0.3 percent in September, as expected after falling the previous month.

Turning to the markets; Dow Jones Industrials lost 4 points to 13,889; the S&P500 was down 1 point to 1,540, but the Nasdaq gained 7 points to 2,799.

In company news, shares in Bank of America were down 2.36 per cent to $48.85 after it reported a 32 per cent fall in its third quarter profit result, hurt by mounting credit losses and dismal investment banking results. Third-quarter net income fell to $3.7 billion from close to 6 billion the previous year.

Shares in the online auctioneer Ebay are also down 6.16 per cent to $38.10 following investor concerns about weakening growth prospects. At least six brokerages, including Goldman Sachs and RBC Capital, raised their price targets for the stock a day after the company posted a sharp net loss due to a $1.39 billion write-down on the purchase of a Web-based phone service. Excluding the write-down and other items, eBay's adjusted profit was a 53 percent increase in comparion to a year ago.

Shares in Bank of New York Mellon are up 4.23 per cent to $45.82. The bank says its third-quarter profit rose 11 percent. In the first quarter since the July merger of Bank of New York with Mellon Financial, net income hit $640 million, up from about $570 million a year earlier for the separate companies on a pro forma basis. Bank of New York alone posted a $352 million profit a year earlier.

And shares in Citrix Systems were down 2.92 per cent to $40.55. The business software maker reported a 39 per cent jump in third-quarter net income based on strong revenue growth across all businesses. Net income rose to $61 million from $44 million a year ago. But the company expects an operating margins fall of about 22 per cent for 2008, down from the 24 percent range a year ago.

To the best and worst performers in the Nasdaq Top 100. Logitech International topped the list with shares up 22.96 per cent to $36.26. Shares in Intuitive Surgical and Level 3 Communications also did well.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals was the worst performer, falling 13.18 per cent to $31.10. Shares in Ebay and Applied Materials also lost value on Thursday.