U.S. stocks end first day of 2015 flat

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks finished flat on Friday, after advancing early in the session, as investors found few reasons to buy in the new year following data that came in below forecasts.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 8.12 points, or 0.05 percent, to 17,831.19, the S&P 500 lost 0.77 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,058.13 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 9.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,726.81.

(Reporting By Sinead Carew; Editing by Nick Zieminski)