US stocks closed mixed after narrowly fluctuating trading Thursday, a pause from the S&P 500's record run on Wednesday, as investors were pondering tepid bank earnings results and economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 64.93 points, or 0.39 percent, to 16,417.01. The S&P 500 lost 2.49 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,845.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index inched up 3.81 points, or 0.09 percent, to 4,218.69.

Both the blue-chip Dow and the broader S&P 500 traded in negative territory amid weak bank earnings reports, while the tech- rich Nasdaq outperformed, managing to finish above flatline.

Before Thursday's opening bell, Goldman Sachs reported its net earnings in the fourth quarter of 2013, which slumped 19 percent to 2.33 billion US dollars on a yearly basis, still above analysts' forecasts. Its diluted earnings per common share were $4. 60 in the quarter, compared with $5.60 in the year- ago period.

The bank's net revenue fell 5 percent to $8.78 billion in the quarter, though its revenue still beat market expectations. The investment bank's shares shed 2.00 percent to $175.17.

Another giant bank Citigroup reported its net income of $2.7 billion, or 85 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2013, compared with a profit of $1.2 billion, or 38 cents a share, 12 months ago. However, Citigroup's earnings still fell short of market expectations, putting a damper on its shares which sank 4.35 percent to 52.60 dollars a share.

Shortly after the closing bell, both the Intel and American Express reported mixed earnings. The tech giant's shares dipped while the shares of the financial services corporation rose slightly in after-hour trading.

The economic data coming out in the day brought no big surprise, failing to provide direction for the market.

The US Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increased 0.3 percent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a flat reading in November, said the Labor Department Thursday.

The number of Americans who initially applied for jobless benefits in the week ending Jan. 11 decreased 2,000 to 326,000, the department said in a separate report, meeting market estimates.

Among other data, US builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes slipped one notch in January to 56 from 57 in the prior month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.