Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as an encouraging U.S. housing report offset soft euro zone data, while the S&P 500 struggled to break through a high not seen since last May.

The benchmark S&P is up 8.3 percent for the year and more than 20 percent from October lows. But the index has been unable to convincingly pierce the 1,360 level, a high hit May 3 and a key resistance point that could spark further gains if broken.

U.S. home resales surged to a 1-1/2 year high in January and supply fell to its lowest in nearly seven years, the National Association of Realtors said, pointing to a nascent housing recovery.

European shares fell for a second straight session as recession concerns increased after data showed the euro zone's service sector unexpectedly shrank and amid residual worries about Greece despite its success in getting a bailout. The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was down 0.8 percent.

On the one hand Greece looks like maybe it is finally sort of taken care of temporarily, U.S. economic data has been pretty good, there hasn't been any real bad news out there, so there is no real motivation to sell, said Uri Landesman, president of investment firm Platinum Partners in New York.

But on the other hand, everybody is kind of thinking '1,080 to 1,360 is a hell of a run.'

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 15.48 points, or 0.12 percent, at 12,950.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 2.60 points, or 0.19 percent, at 1,359.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was off 7.63 points, or 0.26 percent, at 2,940.94.

Dell Inc slumped 6.1 percent to $17.10 and was one of the biggest drags on the S&P. The world's No. 3 personal computer maker forecast revenue below expectations late Tuesday. The NYSEArca computer hardware index <.HWI> lost 1 percent.

Toll Brothers Inc dropped 3.8 percent to $22.81 after the luxury homebuilder swung to a quarterly loss as fewer deliveries and more contract cancellations hurt revenue.

Garmin Ltd jumped 10.7 percent to $49.48 after reporting a better-than-expected profit as revenue from personal navigation devices rose and demand for outdoor and fitness products jumped.

TJX Cos Inc lost 1.7 percent to $34.63 after the off-price retailer reported higher quarterly profit.

Fellow computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co is set to report earnings later Wednesday. The market expects a profit of 87 cents per share, down from $1.36 one year ago.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Wednesday morning, of the 424 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 64 percent have topped analysts' expectations.

Other companies due to announce results later in the day include Express Scripts Inc and Analog Devices Inc .

Biotechs dipped, weighed down by a 5.7 percent drop in Human Genome Sciences Inc to $8.41. RBC cut the stock to a sector perform rating. The NYSEArca biotech index <.BTK> lost 0.9 percent.

(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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