NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are moving between small gains and losses as traders wait for news from budget negotiations in Washington. A deadline for reaching a deal is just days away.

The House planned to move ahead on what Speaker John Boehner called "Plan B," but President Barack Obama has threatened to veto it. A deal must be made by the end of the year to avoid sweeping tax increases and government spending cuts.

The Dow Jones industrial average was off a point at 13,250 shortly before midday Thursday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up a point at 1,437. The Nasdaq slipped two to 3,042.

The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, jumped 33 percent after saying it would be acquired by IntercontinentalExchange, an Atlanta-based exchange operator.