1/30/2012 4:26 PM ET
(RTTNews) - After showing a notable move to the downside in early trading, stocks showed a substantial recovery attempt over the course of the trading day on Monday but still ended the session in the red amid renewed concerns about the financial situation in Europe.
The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day but finished the day modestly below the unchanged line. The Dow edged down 6.74 points or 0.1 percent to 12,653.72, the Nasdaq slipped 4.61 points or 0.2 percent to 2,811.94 and the S&P 500 dropped 3.31 points or 0.3 percent to 1,313.02.
The early weakness on Wall Street came as traders kept an eye on the latest developments in Europe amid concerns about a recession and its potential impact on the global economy.
Adding to the worries about Europe, a report from the Financial Times indicated that Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos angrily rejected a German plan for the euro zone to impose a budget overseer on Greece in return for a new 130 billion euro bailout.
According to the FT, Venizelos said the proposed move would improperly force his country to choose between "financial assistance" and "national dignity."
The report came as European leaders held a summit in Brussels regarding the creation of a permanent rescue fund for the euro zone.
Traders also reacted negatively to a report from the U.S. Commerce Department showing that personal spending came in nearly unchanged in December despite a notable increase in personal income.
While the report showed that personal income rose by 0.5 percent in December, personal spending edged down by less than 0.1 percent.
The report subsequently showed that the savings rate reached a four-month high of 4.0 percent, although Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said, "That's still not high enough, suggesting that real consumption probably won't grow by much more than 1.5% this year."
Selling pressure waned not long after the open, however, and stocks subsequently climbed well off their worst levels of the day. The rebound reflected the recent upward trend for the markets.
Among individual stocks, shares of Gannett (GCI) came under pressure on the day after the newspaper publisher reported a notable drop in advertising revenue at its newspaper division.
Meanwhile, Thomas & Betts (TNB) moved sharply higher after the electrical components maker agreed to be acquired by Swiss engineering giant ABB Ltd. (ABB) for $3.9 billion in cash.
Sector News
Despite the recovery attempt by the broader markets, significant weakness remained visible among healthcare provider stocks. The Morgan Stanley Healthcare Provider Index fell by 2.2 percent, pulling back off the nearly six-month closing high set in the previous sessions.
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