Stocks Spring Forward, With Trepidation

The market had daylight-savings jet lag Monday. But a subdued mood was just as well, as there wasn't much to energize traders but sunnier weather.

There was a flurry of merger and acquisition activity, which is always a bullish sign. But M&A news was countered by news of default notices for subprime problem child New Century Financial(NEW Quote).

Stock market volume was weak, as traders braced for a week chock full of clues on the market's and the economy's direction. Tuesday's report of February retail sales and Goldman Sachs'(GS Quote) kickoff to brokerages' earnings season could provide a kiss of death or a confidence boost.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.34% to close at 12,318.62 while the S&P 500 added 0.27% to 1406.60. The Nasdaq Composite finished the day up 0.62% at 2402.29.

Stocks' resilience depends somewhat on whether the brokers reveal how much negative spillover there's been from exposure to the subprime mortgage market or from trading in related subprime mortgage securities.

In addition to Goldman, Lehman Brothers(LEH Quote) and Bear Stearns(BSC Quote) report fiscal first-quarter earnings this week. Morgan Stanley(MS Quote), which Monday pulled its $265 million financing package for New Century, reports next Tuesday.

The scuttlebutt on Wall Street suggests that the losses for the investment firms were in the billions of dollars via bad trades or exposure to bad loans -- or both.

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