Stocks staged a meek rally with just under two hours in trading Monday after spending most of the day lower. The major indexes closed flat.
It was a respite of sorts during a bad run for the market. Friday the Dow suffered its largest one-day points and percentage decline since November. The S&P 500 managed to avoid its fourth day of losses.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 17.34, or 0.14 percent, to 12,101.23. The S&P 500 rose 0.08, or 0.01 percent, to 1,278.12. The Nasdaq was 12.53 higher, or 0.46 percent, to end at 2,760.01.
"It's a continuation of the flight to safety, or flight to quality, that we have observed over the last week or so," Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer of OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois, said earlier in the trading day..
"Frankly, at this point, the market probably is ready for a rally with the right catalyst."
In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is pressing for much more ambitious measures to deal with the eurozone’s financial crisis, including a central authority to manage euro-area finances and major new powers for the European Commission, European Parliament and European Court of Justice.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is advocating a direct European rescue for the country's banks with moral support from the European Commission, but Germany appeared cool to such a move for the euro zone's fourth biggest member.
Economic data showed orders for manufactured goods dropped 0.6 percent in April, its third decline in four months and confounding expectations calling for a 0.2 percent gain.
Earlier Monday, Asian markets appeared rattled by Friday's U.S. jobs report and signs of slower growth in China. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.7 percent, its biggest slide of 2012.
Below, CNBC's Brian Sullivan discusses why slow market growth could be a good thing for your portfolio.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
