NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street as budget talks continue in Washington.
Discount retailer Big Lots soared 8 percent after beating analysts' earnings forecasts and raising its estimate for full-year earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 13 points at 12,978 shortly after the opening bell Tuesday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up a fraction at 1,409 and the Nasdaq composite index fell two points to 2,999.
Pep Boys fell 9 percent after posting a loss on weak sales at the company's auto stores and rising costs.
In Washington, talks are proceeding on how to avoid a fiscal crunch of higher taxes and government spending cuts set to automatically kick in at the beginning of the year.
