Stock market today: Wall Street is off to a mixed start

Stocks are drifting again on Wall Street. The S&P 500 was little changed early Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%. A report showing a pickup in layoffs helped to keep the market steady. Investors hope the economy can stay solid enough to avoid a bad recession, but not so strong that it puts upward pressure on inflation. Robinhood Markets jumped after breezing past analysts' forecasts. Beyond Meat, the maker of plant-based meat substitutes, fell 13% after it posted a much wider loss than analysts expected as demand continued to crater.