NEW YORK — Stock indexes finished mostly flat Monday as investors had no change of heart about the economy and again poured money into the safety of U.S. Treasurys.
The Dow Jones industrial average fluctuated along with the other big market indexes throughout the day. The Dow closed down just more than a point, but the other indexes had slight to middling gains. There were more winners than losers on the New York Stock Exchange.
Investors were dealing with more downbeat economic news, but it wasn’t bad enough to set off significant selling. A report on manufacturing in New York state fell short of forecasts, and Japan became the latest country to show signs of slowing growth. The reports raised investors’ concerns about the pace of the global economic recovery.
Analysts said Monday’s short buying spurt was a pause after four days of losses that sent the Dow down almost 400 points.
“The market is really being controlled by (short-term) traders,” said Mike Rubino, chief executive at Rubino Financial Group in Troy, Mich. “The long-term investor doesn’t appear to be anywhere in sight.”
Without those long-term investors, trading is expected to remain erratic for the foreseeable future.
The Dow fell 1.14, or 0.01 percent, to 10,302.01. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.13, or 0.01 percent, to 1,079.38, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 8.39, or 0.4 percent, to 2,181.87.
The Nasdaq, which has fallen more than the other indexes, got a lift from technology- company deals. Among them, Dell Inc. said it is buying 3Par Inc., a maker of data-storage equipment, for about $1.13 billion.
Advancing stocks were ahead of losers by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume remained extremely light at 3.15 billion shares, down from Friday’s 3.35 billion. Many traders are on vacation. And those who are at their trading desks are making few moves in an uncertain economy.
