Stocks post slight gains as investors work through earnings

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks had another day of meager gains on Thursday as investors worked through a new batch of mixed company earnings, including results from Facebook, Ford and Whole Foods.

Cautious investors are looking ahead to a meeting of the Bank of Japan on Friday which is expected to result in an announcement of more stimulus for the world's third-largest economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 15.82 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,456.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.48 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,170.06 and the Nasdaq composite rose 15.17 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,154.98.

After the market's run-up this month, investors have mostly been in wait-and-see mode this week. While it's been a busy week for corporate earnings, and individual stocks have moved a lot, the overall market has been relatively quiet.

Market strategists have said stocks have gotten expensive in recent days, and many investors are waiting for earnings to play out before making any major moves.