U.S. stocks were near session lows at midday on Thursday as U.S. crude oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel on violence in Libya.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 57.45 points, or 0.47 percent, at 12,048.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 3.69 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,303.71. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 2.39 points, or 0.09 percent, at 2,725.38.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Libya