Wall Street closes flat, Europe drops after hitting 5-month high

Stocks held firm near recent five-month highs on Wednesday as markets awaited key bond market tests for Europe in the next two days that could determine the direction of the euro zone crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 14.45 points, or 0.12 percent, at 12,448.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.26 point, or 0.02 percent, at 1,292.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.96 points, or 0.29 percent, at 2,710.46.

European shares fell, from a five-month high, after Fitch Ratings warned that the European Central Bank should take a more active role in buying troubled euro zone debt to avert a collapse of the euro and major indices hit resistance levels.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.7 percent at a provisional close of 1,020.12 points after touching 1,029.32 a five-month high.