Submitted by Fox First at Ten on December 4th
NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street as budget talks continue in Washington.
Discount retailer Big Lots soared 8 percent after beating analysts' earnings forecasts and raising its estimate for full-year earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 13 points at 12,978 shortly after the opening bell Tuesday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up a fraction at 1,409 and the Nasdaq composite index fell two points to 2,999.
Pep Boys fell 9 percent after posting a loss on weak sales at the company's auto stores and rising costs.
In Washington, talks are proceeding on how to avoid a fiscal crunch of higher taxes and government spending cuts set to automatically kick in at the beginning of the year.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
