L'Oreal shares fell 4% as the French cosmetics giant reported slower-than-forecast fourth-quarter sales. Porsche stock fell 5% as the 911 sports-car maker said it would take €800 million in restructuring costs this year. Amazon.com shares fell 3% after the online giant's first-quarter earnings and sales forecast came up short of expectations.

The Dow was on pace for a 0.4% weekly gain, while the S&P 500 was up 0.5% so far and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.7% higher through Thursday, according to FactSet. The blame for the Dow being down so much, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are rising, can be put on two stocks, those of Honeywell and Salesforce.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Thursday, as investors sifted through several upbeat earnings reports while awaiting Friday's key jobs report and any trade policy moves. Drugmaker Eli Lilly rose 3.

The US stock market was little changed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite holding modest gains while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped. Investors assessed a mixed set of corporate earnings and looked ahead to Friday’s key jobs report.