Indexes clawed back near the break-even level in early afternoon trading. The S&P 500 and Dow slipped 0.1% each, and the Nasdaq was down just a fraction. Volume was tracking mixed, slightly higher on the Nasdaq and lower on the NYSE. Telecom firms Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Cablevision (CVC) surged in the stock market today on news that French holding company Altice is buying U.S. cable company Suddenlink.