Wall Street little changed as investors seek catalysts

Wall Street and world equity markets were little changed in light volume as a lack of major economic news gave investors little reason to push stocks higher, for now.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 21.73 points, or 0.16 percent, at 13,971.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index edged down 0.92 points, or 0.06 percent, at 1,517.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 1.87 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,192.00.

European shares briefly turned flat today as a rally in Dutch retailer Ahold offset losses for pharma group Novo Nordisk.

Ahold rose 4.2 percent after agreeing to sell its 60 percent stake in Swedish supermarket chain ICA for about $1.3 billion dollars, close to the high end of analysts' expectations.

It was among top risers on the FTSEurofirst 300, which was flat at 1,161.63 points at 1005 GMT, recovering from earlier losses.

Shares in Novo Nordisk curbed gains on the index, falling 12 percent after US regulators requested additional tests on the firm's new drugs, in a move that could delay approval by up to five years, according to analysts at Jefferies.