By msnbc.com staff
Stocks rallied back from early session losses Monday to end mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average again traded above 13,000, but again failed end the day above that level.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow finished down 1.44, or 0.01 percent, to 12,981.51. The S&P 500 rose 1.86, or 0.14 percent, to 1,367.60. The Nasdaq ended 2.41 higher, or 0.08 percent, to 2,966.16.
Two bits of economic news may have helped the market. A poll of the National Association of Business Economists found its members more confident about the recovery and January pending home sales hit a two-year high.
The Dow broke through 13,000 several times last week but hasn't closed above that level since May 19, 2008. On Friday, the S&P closed at its highest level since June 2008.
Scott Wren, senior equity strategist for Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis, said investors have gotten ahead of themselves since October. The S&P 500 is up 8.7 percent this year alone.
He said he thinks U.S. economic growth is likely to be a mild 2 percent this year, there are fewer people working now than there were at the end of 2007, and Europe may be in a recession.
"I don't see any reason for the market to be on some incredible run," he said.
"A lot of positives are unfolding in the U.S., but a lot of that has been priced into this rally we've had since the fall. With the earnings season over, we may see a little bit of pullback," said Natalie Trunow, chief investment officer of equities at Calvert Investment Management in Bethesda, Maryland, which has about $13 billion in assets.
Dow 17,000 next year? Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital, and Paul Hickey, Bespoke Investment Group, discuss two bullish calls on stocks and the direction of the market with CNBC.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
