U.S. stocks fluctuated as mixed earnings reports provided little direction, with gains in financial shares led by American Express Co. offsetting declines paced by eBay Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. after their results disappointed.

Equities reversed a morning slide as commodity producers recovered on a stronger outlook for oil prices from the World Bank. Crude still retreated from a 15-month high to sap the energy group’s comeback. Investors weighed a variety of influences Thursday, including a batch of corporate reports, stimulus measures from the European Central Bank, a final presidential debate and signs the housing market continues to bolster growth, adding to the case for higher borrowing costs.

The S&P 500 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 2,143.18 at 3:16 p.m. in New York, after losing as much as 0.5 percent.

The benchmark climbed back near its average price during the past 100 days after falling below the closely watched level. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 14.14 points to 18,188.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed.

Trading in S&P 500 shares was 6 percent above the 30-day average for this time of day.

“There have been a handful of news items for traders to key off of today, including Draghi’s comments, earnings and the last night’s debate,” said Frank Cappelleri, executive director at Instinet LLC in New York.

“With the market so close to an important support level, traders have been looking for reasons to either buy before the potential bounce or sell in front of a larger decline. The erratic movement so far suggests that both of these have been happening today.”