U.S. stocks traded in a tight range in the morning session on Thursday, as investors assessed quarterly earnings from big banks amid economic data.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 28.87 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,937.15. The S&P 500 rose 2.21 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,084.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index ticked up 0.81 points, or 0.02 percent, to 4,948.23.

Bank of America reported Thursday quarterly net income of 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 21 cents per diluted share, worse than expected.

Wells Fargo posted quarterly net income of 5.5 billion dollars, compared with 5.8 billion dollars in first quarter 2015. Its diluted earnings per share were 99 cents, compared with 1.04 dollars in the same period last year. Shares of Wells Fargo edged up 0.24 percent around midday trading.

On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increase 0.1 percent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. The index for all items less food and energy inched up 0.1 percent in March after rising 0.3 percent in February.

In a separate report, in the week ending April 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 253,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level.

Source: Xinhua