US stocks struggle for direction before holiday

Associated PressU.S. stocks are opening mixed.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down four points to 12,867. The Standard & Poor’s 500 is up less than a point at 1,366. The Nasdaq composite index is up less than half a point at 2,951.

Investors expect a quiet day. Trading will end early, at 1 p.m. EDT, ahead of the July Fourth holiday. Auto companies are reporting June car sales throughout the day. Chrysler says its sales jumped 20 percent.

Later in the morning, the government will release data on U.S. factory orders for May.

Otherwise, investors are waiting for Friday’s jobs report and next week’s kickoff to earnings season.

Eastman Kodak is up 10 percent after getting approval from a bankruptcy court to auction more of its patents.