SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks eked out a small gain on Monday, shedding most of their advance in the final minutes and sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.10% lower. Powered by improved sentiment about the U.S. economy following a rise in pending home sales, the S&P 500 SPX, +0.03% ended up 1.85 point, or 0.1%, at 1,367.59. The Dow average, which had spent much of the session above 13,000, lost its advance right before the closing bell, sinking 1.44 point, or 0.01%, to 12,981.51. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.24% ended up 2.41 points, or 0.1%, at 2,966.16. Aside from hopes and disappointments about Europe's debt crisis, profit-taking from stocks' strong rally this year, as well as buyers looking to get in on the dips, have accounted for stocks' whipsawed moves in many sessions, analysts say.
Read the full story: Dow closes below 13,000 after late selloff