Stocks reverse losses as commodities end off lows

NEW YORK — Investors might be worried about the soundness of the market's rally but they're also worried about missing it.

Stocks reversed steep losses in the final hour of trading to end little changed Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial average recovered from a 130-point slide.

Falling commodities prices had spooked investors earlier Monday, but prices for key industrial materials closed off their lows for the day, providing some relief to the stock market.

Commodities prices have been rallying in recent weeks on optimism that a pickup in manufacturing would increase demand for raw materials like copper, silver and oil. The recovery in both stock and commodity prices late Monday suggested that investors have not given up on hopes for a turnaround in the economy.

The volatility came in light trading, which can exaggerate moves in market indicators. Traders said the market is still trying to determine whether to proceed with a powerful three-month rally.

"There's a growing sense of confusion as to when exactly this decline in the economy will end and what kind of expansion will come on the heels of it," said Joseph Battipaglia, market strategist for the private client group at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 1.36, or less than 0.1 percent, to 8,764.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.95, or 0.1 percent, to 939.14, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.02, or 0.4 percent, to 1,842.40.

Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a relatively light 1.1 billion shares, versus 1.3 billion on Friday.