U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish, though the modest moves for indexes masked some thrashing underneath the surface.

The S&P 500 ended barely changed Wednesday after trading lower for much of the day. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a gain of 0.3%.

Target led the market lower and lost more than a fifth of its value after the retailer gave a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 rose 0.13 points, or less than 0.1%, to 5,917.11.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 139.53 points, or 0.3%, to 43,408.47.

The Nasdaq composite fell 21.32 points, or 0.1%, to 18,966.14.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.71 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,325.53.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 46.49 points, or 0.8%.

The Dow is down 36.52 points, or 0.1%.

The Nasdaq is up 286.02 points, or 1.5%.

The Russell 2000 is up 21.70 points, or 0.9%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 1,147.28 points, or 24.1%.

The Dow is up 5,718.93 points, or 15.2%.

The Nasdaq is up 3,954.79 points, or 26.3%.

The Russell 2000 is up 298.46 points, or 14.7%.