The Lowdown
Stocks and many exchange-traded funds went flat Wednesday as traders weighed the latest trade and inventories data, as well as developments in the banking sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 3 points at 10567. The S&P 500 picked up 5 at 1146, and the Nasdaq rose 18 to 2359.

In economic news, data from China showed the country's trade surplus narrowed to $7.6 billion in February from $14.2 billion in January as imports surged. Meanwhile, exports from Germany unexpectedly slumped over 6% in January, and industrial production fell in the U.K. during January.

At home, wholesale inventories fell 0.2% in January, according to a Commerce Department report released Wednesday. Economists had expected a 0.2% increase. The January dip followed a 1.0% decline in December.

In finance, Bank of America (BAC) said today that it will eliminate $35 overdraft fees on debit card transactions; one of the most lucrative type of fees for the industry and a major source of revenues. According to reports, regulators are telling banks like JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) to hold on to cash instead of returning it.

Crude futures gained on Wednesday after OPEC raised its forecast for global oil demand and China reported strong trade data.

In Washington, the Federal Reserve is debating how to signal the next rate move, though the central bank is unlikely to change its phrasing about keeping interest rates near zero for a long time during next week's meeting.

Oil futures were up 34 cents at $81.83 a barrel, while gold futures dropped $16.70 an ounce to $1105.60.

European markets held gains as basic resources and banks reversed earlier losses. Chinese stocks broke a three-session winning run on worries that Thursday's report on consumer prices will lead to tightening of monetary policy.

For a detailed rundown on Wednesday s trading session see our market story.

Winners

The SPDR KBW Bank fund (KBE) rose 2.3% as financial services stocks led major indexes. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production fund (XOP) rose 1.6% on the OPEC announcement.

Losers

Another drop in gold prices, to $1,105 an ounce, pushed back shares of the Market Vectors Gold Miners fund (GDX) 1.4%. The ELEMENTS Exchange Traded Notes S&P Commodity Trends Indicator fund (LSC) shed 0.8%.

Thursday s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls
Abraxis BioScience, Advanced Life Sciences, Aeropostale, Air Methods, Altair Nanotechnologies, American States Water, Arabian American Development, Ballard Power Systems, Banks.com, Breitburn Energy Partners, Cambium Learning Group, Cardiac Science, CECO Environmental, Chemspec International, Chyron, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Delek US Holdings, Deutsche Lufthansa, eDiets.com, Ener1, First Data, Fisher Communications, GeoEye, Goldcorp , IDT, IMAX, inContact, Innodata Isogen, Intelli-Check, Inuvo, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, John Wiley & Sons, Lifetime Brands, LIN TV, Mac-Gray, National Semiconductor, Navisite, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Orbit International, Orthovita, Pacific Sunwear of California, Pall, Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, Provident Energy, PURE Bioscience, QAD, Quiksilver, Raven Industries, RCM Technologies, Rewards Network, Safeguard Scientifics, SeaChange International, Shuffle Master, Smithfield Foods, Synta Pharmaceuticals, Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Uranium Resources, UTStarcom, Verenium, Vought Aircraft Industries, Wave Systems, West Marine, XOMA, Youbet.com, Zumiez

Economic Data
8:30 a.m. International Trade 8:30 a.m. Jobless Claims 10:00 a.m. Quarterly Services Survey 10:30 a.m. EIA Natural Gas Report 4:30 p.m. Fed Balance Sheet 4:30 p.m. Money Supply

Quick Take

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Wednesday.

Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.