Anxiety over economic recovery weighs on stocks

NEW YORK — Investors can't shake their worries that economy won't be able to lock in a recovery by the end of the year.

Stocks finished mostly lower after zigzagging Wednesday as a mixed outlook on the economy from the International Monetary Fund and falling commodity prices added to a downbeat mood.

Another tumble in oil prices dragged energy shares lower and reflected concerns that demand for resources will remain weak as the economy struggles.

Stocks drew some support from a strong auction of 10-year Treasury notes. That helped allay one of the market's recent worries, that the government would have trouble finding enough buyers for the massive amount of debt it's issuing. Investors also flocked to the safety of government debt because they are worried about the economy.

After sending stocks soaring this spring on the belief that the economy was turning around, investors have put their buying on hold since mid-June as several pieces of disappointing economic data eroded the case for a quick recovery.

"There's nothing to get people to jump into the market," said Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist at Swiss Re. "Nothing to get them excited."

The market has already digested the most recent batch of economic news, including worse-than-expected reports on employment and manufacturing, and is becoming anxious ahead of second-quarter earnings season and the forecasts from companies that are sure to be the next big test for stocks.

More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange but major indicators ended mixed.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrials rose 14.81, or 0.2 percent, to 8,178.41.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.47, or 0.2 percent, to 879.56 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.00, or 0.1 percent, to 1,747.17. Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit levels not seen since May 1.