Stocks Flat; Fannie Mae Up, Microsoft Off By Anupama Chandrasekaran NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday as a European antitrust ruling weighed on Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) , offsetting a rise in Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) after its embattled chief executive stepped down. A day after the Dow hit a 3 1/2 year intra-day high, trading volume was low as investors focused on the upcoming holidays. Fannie Mae <FNM.N rose 4.2 percent to $73.30. The chief executive and chief financial officer of the U.S. mortgage finance giant stepped down late on Tuesday after regulators exposed accounting errors that are expected to force a massive earnings restatement. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) fell 14 cents to $26.93 after it lost a European Union court appeal against sanctions imposed by EU regulators that would force it to change business practices and sell a stripped-down version of Windows. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.78 points, or 0.01 percent, at 10,760.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.07 of a point, or 0.01 percent, at 1,205.52. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.93 points, or 0.09 percent, at 2,148.98. "The Fannie Mae news has been circulating and that is no big surprise," said Martin Yokosawa, senior portfolio manager, Oberweise Asset Management "You will see investors nibbling at some stocks later in the day if they see some direction. But I think people are on vacation already." The U.S. economy grew at a slightly stronger rate than expected in the third quarter, with gross domestic product expanding at a 4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM.TO: Quote , Profile , Research ) (RIMM.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) fell 4 percent to $83.50, a day after the maker of Blackberry wireless devices disappointed investors with its sales forecast. Oil prices eased on mild U.S. weather as traders waited to see whether the first cold snap of the U.S. winter has eaten into low heating fuel supplies. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) futures rose 14 cents to $45.90 a barrel. U.S. inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is released at 10:30 a.m. (1530 GMT), with inventories of distillates expected to fall by 1.0 million barrels, according to a Reuters poll. Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) rose 28 cents to $53.70 after it said could sell up to 50 of its new 7E7 planes to Japan Airlines Corp. (JAL) (9205.T: Quote , Profile , Research ) under a deal announced on Wednesday worth as much as $6 billion at list prices. Quelle "Stocks Flat; Fannie Mae Up, Microsoft Off" : reuters.com Main page for "Stocks Flat; Fannie Mae Up, Microsoft Off"