Wall Street is flirting with a record again as U.S. stock indexes drift in mixed trading on Tuesday. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in late trading and sitting just below its all-time closing high set last month,

Collectively, about 6,000 companies are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Exchange, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). Read on to see the S&P 500's average return over the last decade,

NEW YORK — Most U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after a report showed inflation is unexpectedly worsening for Americans . The S&P 500 dropped 0.3%, though it had been on track for a much worse loss of 1.1% at the start of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 225 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite edged higher by less than 0.1%.

Wall Street edged back from an all-time high following mixed profit reports from big companies. The S&P 500 barely budged on Friday and slipped by a hair, a day after rallying within 0.1% of its record set last month.

Stocks are drifting lower although still near a record high as a holiday-shortened week gets off to a sluggish start. The S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower in Tuesday afternoon trading and is just below its all-time closing high set last month.