U.S. Stocks End Choppy Day Mixed Amid Global Growth Jitters

U.S. stocks capped a day of choppy trading with an uneven finish Monday as investors wrestled to make sense of newly pessimistic outlooks for the global economy.

Traders also weighed another troubling drop in long-term bond yields, which many see as a warning sign of a possible recession.

Large-company stocks ended broadly lower, led by drops in big technology companies. Apple fell 1.2 percent after announcing several new services. Small-company stocks fared better.

The bout of volatile trading left the S&P 500 index slightly lower, extending the benchmark index’s losses from a broad market sell-off last week.

The S&P 500 dropped 2.35 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,798.36.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14.51 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,516.83. It was down as much as 130 and up as much as 100 earlier in the day.

The Nasdaq composite lost 5.13 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,637.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 6.94 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,512.86.

Major European stock indexes finished lower as uncertainty over Brexit continued.

Despite the market’s recent slide, the S&P 500 index is still up more than 11 percent so far in 2019, an unusually strong start to a year.

Worried investors have shifted money into bonds, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slid to 2.40 percent from 2.45 percent late Friday. At one point, the yield had fallen to 2.38 percent, briefly triggering deeper declines in the stock indexes.

Monday’s shaky start to the markets came amid a lull in news on the tariffs war between the United States and China. Trade talks are due to resume Thursday in Beijing.

U.S. stock indexes did not appear to have a significant move either way in response to news that the special counsel’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election concluded without finding evidence that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia.

Chipmaker Micron Technology dropped 2.6 percent, while Synchrony Financial slid 1.4 percent. Homebuilder Lennar climbed 3.6 percent to lead the consumer discretionary sector, while retailer L Brands picked up 2.6 percent.