U.S. Stocks Little Changed as Banks Kick Off Earnings Season

1604 ET – U.S. stocks end the day little changed, while a 3.4% drop in UnitedHealth Group shares weigh on the Dow Industrials after the health insurer reports a jump in medical costs. Big banks are mostly lower after reporting 4Q results, though Citigroup gains 1% after announcing plans to cut 20,000 jobs. BlackRock gains 0.9% after agreeing to buy private-equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners for roughly $12.5 billion. The DJIA falls 118 points to 37592, while the S&P 500 gains 3 points to 4783 and the Nasdaq rises 2 points to 14972. All three major indexes end the week higher, revering the prior week’s losses. (patrick.sullivan@wsj.com)