NEW YORK — An early gain on the stock market shrank Thursday after House Speaker John Boehner said little progress was being made in budget talks in Washington.

The Dow Jones industrial average had been up as much as 77 points in morning trading Thursday, then briefly turned negative after Boehner’s remarks at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. Shortly after noon the Dow was up 20 points at 13,005.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up four points at 1,414 and the Nasdaq was up 15 at 3,006.

The market got off to a strong start following several positive economic reports, including a higher estimate of third-quarter U.S. economic growth, an increase in home sales and a drop in claims for unemployment benefits.

Following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Boehner told reporters that Democrats still haven’t said which cuts they would accept to government benefit programs, suggesting a final budget deal remains a long way off. Republicans have said that they are open to increasing tax revenues as part of an agreement but only if they’re accompanied by significant cuts to spending.