NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq briefly pared gains on Thursday, and the Dow traded near break-even, following results of the latest U.S. government bond auction.

* The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 2.19 points, or 0.03 percent, at 8,176.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 3.57 points, or 0.41 percent, at 883.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 8.03 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,755.20. (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Leslie Adler)