Stocks fall but end off lows

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks mostly fell Monday but ended off their lows as investors moved into technology and health-care shares.

News of Dell Inc.’s plans to buy information technology company Perot Systems Corp. for $3.9 billion helped to lift some tech stocks but failed to raise the broader market. A stronger dollar ignited a sharp sell-off in commodities such as oil and gold, which weighed on energy and material shares.

Stocks and commodities have been on a relentless ascent over the past six months as investors make bets that the economy is healing, bolstered by improving activity in the housing and manufacturing industries and better consumer sentiment.

With stocks up more than 50 percent since bottoming in early March, analysts say breaks in the rally are healthy.

Meanwhile, a private sector group’s forecast of economic activity Monday further validated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s pronouncement last week that the U.S. recession was “likely over” from a technical standpoint. The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators increased 0.6 percent in August, just shy of the 0.7 percent increase economists expected. It was the fifth straight month the index rose.

The Fed this week is widely expected to keep interest rates at a record low of near zero.