The Nasdaq edged higher on Thursday as another steady stream of strong earnings from companies, including Starbucks Corp , overshadowed worries about Greece's ability to handle its debt.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 were little changed after falling 1 percent or more earlier.

Strong earnings, coupled with signs of further stabilization in the labor market, helped reinforce optimism about the U.S. economic recovery. In addition, traders saw a speech on financial reform by U.S. President Barack Obama as carrying no new anti-Wall Street barbs.

Starbucks jumped more than 7 percent to $27.20 a day after the coffee chain operator posted a quarterly profit above analysts' estimates.

SanDisk Corp , which makes flash memory for mobile phones, digital cameras and other electronics, also posted results that beat estimates, sending its shares up 12.2 percent to $42.18.

There have been some strong earnings from a lot of companies. Everything seems to be hanging in there, said Stephen Carl, principal and head of U.S. equity trading at The Williams Capital Group LP. Economic numbers didn't look too bad and that's contributing to leading things.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dipped 7.48 points, or 0.07 percent, to 11,117.44. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 0.59 point, or 0.05 percent, to 1,206.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 9.09 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,513.70.

The cost of insuring Greek debt hit a record high after the European Union said Greece had larger budget deficits last year than anticipated.

Moody's downgraded Greece's sovereign ratings, fanning investors' fears that European national debt problems could derail the economic recovery.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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