Mixed close on Wall St. as calm returns

Associated Press

Calm returned to the stock market Monday after a spasm of fearful selling last week. Major indexes closed mixed after trading modestly lower for most of the day.

The Dow Jones industrial average opened at its lowest level since December after a 275-point sell-off Friday ignited by grim economic signals, especially a dismal report on the U.S. labor market.

Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at the brokerage Charles Schwab, expects trading to remain slow and steady unless traders are moved by positive news, such as a surprisingly strong economic report.

“You’ve got to find a catalyst for people to enter the market, and frankly, I just don’t see one right now,” Frederick said.

In Europe, bond investors appeared less concerned about the finances of some of the region’s financially troubled countries. Bond yields fell for Italy and Spain, meaning that they appear less likely to default.