The markets closed flat with the Dow slipping 2 points to 12,415 as mixed retail sales figures tempered upbeat jobs data. Nasdaq climbed 21 points to 2669.

On the upside

Sirius XM (Nasdaq: SIRI) added approximately 1.7 million subscribers in 2011 bringing its total to nearly 21.9 million subscribers.

Rumors that the federal government may introduce a plan to jumpstart mortgage refinancing lifted shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC).

CNBC said that PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) may rebound the most among homebuilders in 2012.

On the downside

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) shut down the platformer and udex units at its Texas City refinery on January 4.

Shares of Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) fell after weekly magazine Weltwoche accused Switzerland's central bank chairman Philipp M. Hildebrand of insider trading.

Jefferies & Co. downgraded Globe Specialty Metals (Nasdaq: GSM) and cut its price target from $22.50 to $16.

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks gained 5 points to 752.