US STOCKS-Wall St flat in light preholiday trade

                                
  
                                
 * Retailers buoyed by Bed Bath & Beyond, Jo-Ann Stores
                                
 * Data mostly in line with expectations
                                
 * Dow up 0.1 pct, S&P off 0.1 pct, Nasdaq down 0.1 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to mid-morning trading)
                                
 By Rodrigo Campos
                                
 NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little
changed on Thursday despite a preholiday flurry of data that
reinforced views of a solid economic growth as Wall Street
sought to notch a fourth straight week of gains.
                                
 New home sales and prices edged up in November, while
consumer sentiment rose in December to its highest level since
June.
                                
 Other reports were mostly in line with expectations, with
jobless claims suggesting unemployment will stay stubbornly
high. But consumer spending rose for a fifth month, while
durable goods orders posted their largest increase since March.
For details, see [ID:nN23135079]
                                
 "Most economic data in the last couple of months has really
turned positive," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical
strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 12.45
points, or 0.11 percent, to 11,571.94. The Standard & Poor's
500 <.SPX> dipped 1.06 points, or 0.08 percent, to 1,257.78.
The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> shed 3.39 points, or 0.13 percent,
to 2,668.09.
                                
 Volume was expected to be low as Wall Street takes a break
Friday for the Christmas holiday.
                                
 The S&P 500 rose Wednesday to its highest level since the
collapse of Lehman Brothers more than two years ago, led by
bank stocks.
                                
 "We are continuing to make new highs as volume tails off,
and the question is will it lead to some potential weakness
into early next year," Detrick said.
                                
 "Some optimism is creeping in, but bigger picture we think
there could be a correction of 5 to 7 percent," towards the
second half of January, he said.
                                
 The S&P 500 rose 7.6 percent in the last two months of
2009, only to peak mid-January, then fall 2 percent that
month.
                                
 Retail stocks got a boost as Bed Bath & Beyond Inc <BBBY.O>
rose 6 percent to $50.51 after it beat quarterly profit
estimates and forecast a strong holiday season. [ID:nN2287296]
                                
 Fabric and crafts retailer Jo-Ann Stores Inc <JAS.N> jumped
32.2 percent to $60.33 after a deal to be bought by private
equity firm Leonard Green & Partners for about $1.6 billion, or
$61 per share. [ID:nSGE6BM09Q]
                                
 Micron Technology Inc <MU.O> shares slipped 2.7 percent to
$8.06 a day after the top U.S. memory chip maker forecast lower
pricing for NAND chips, which are used in smartphones and
tablet computers. [ID:nN22114698]
                                
 Motorola Inc <MOT.N> spinoff Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc
will replace Meredith Corp <MDP.N> in the S&P 500 index after
the close on Jan. 3, according to Standard & Poor's. Meredith
shares dipped 1.3 percent to $35.35.
  (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)