By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks closed little changed on Thursday as news of hotter-than-expected inflation and signs of labor market strength dampened hopes for early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, but a fall in Treasury yields kept declines in check. In a choppy session, equities opened higher and the benchmark S&P 500 briefly surpassed its record closing high of 4,796.56, hit in January 2022, before erasing initial gains. After ending 2023 with a strong rally, stocks have struggled to find upward momentum, with the S&P 500 up only 0.21% on the year…