Flat Finish for Wall Street

Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) faced pressure after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Internet giant may scale back its partnership with AT&T (T Quote). Yahoo! sank $1.59, or 5.2%, at $29.12.

Among ratings changes, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded FedEx (FDX Quote) to buy from hold, and the stock was higher by $1.08, or 1%, to close at $114.67.

The firm also raised Texas Instruments (TXN Quote) to buy from hold, saying the chipmaker's overstock inventory has been reduced. Shares rose 76 cents, or 2.4%, to $32.46.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, energy futures were lower. Crude oil slid $1.59 to $60.05 a barrel, and natural gas was off 15 cents at $7.08 per million British thermal units.

Metals prices slipped. Gold was off by $3.50 to $652 an ounce, and silver eased 15 cents to $12.97 an ounce.