Despite the S&P 500's sluggish moves, the benchmark index is at three-week highs it hit after rallying more than 5 percent in the last four days on strong US jobs data, easing fears of higher interest rates and rising hopes of a trade deal.
But the trade-related optimism was dampened as China offered little details on key issues such as forced technology transfers, intellectual property rights, tariff barriers and cyber attacks, while saying the meeting set a "foundation" to resolve differences.
The lack of clarity, coupled with weak economic data in China and France, rekindled worries about global growth.
Closer home, reports from Macy's and American Airlines added to fears of corporate profit growth shrinking, which was exacerbate after Apple's sales warning last week.
Macy's Inc plunged 18.1 percent after the department store operator cut same-store sales forecast for the full year due to weak demand during mid-December.
The report, along with that of Kohl's Corp and others, pushed the S&P 500 retailers index 0.56 percent lower.
The technology index dropped 0.56 percent, with Apple down 0.4 percent and Microsoft Corp 0.7 percent. Profit forecasts for technology companies have fallen more than any sector other than energy.
At 11:36 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 62.93 points, or 0.26 percent, at 23,942.05, the S&P 500 was up 3.87 points, or 0.15 percent, at 2,588.83 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 8.61 points, or 0.12 percent, at 6,965.69.
The trade-sensitive industrial stocks however rose 0.73 percent, lifted by Boeing Co, which gained 1.7 percent after the US Air Force accepted its long-delayed KC-46 air tanker.
American Airlines Group Inc fell 7.4 percent after the No.1 US carrier cut its fourth-quarter profit and unit revenue forecasts. That weighed on other airlines as well.