Late Buyers Save the Day

Updated from 4:18 p.m. EDT

Stocks slumped Monday after the government reported weaker-than-expected data from the housing sector, but buyers emerged late to help the major indices finish narrowly mixed.

After falling more than 100 points earlier in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 11.94 points, or 0.1%, to 12,469.07. The S&P 500 rose 1.39 points, or 0.1%, to 1437.50, and the Nasdaq Composite ended up 6.70 points, or 0.27%, to 2455.63.

"The comeback came thanks to bargain-hunters," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer with Oaktree Asset Management. "There wasn't any news to drive the market higher, but there was a pretty broad-based recovery."

About 2.73 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, with advancers nearly matching decliners. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.79 billion shares, with losers edging winners 8 to 7.

Energy-related subindices were among the winners of the day. The Amex Oil Index and the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index both added 0.5%, and the NYSE Energy Index gained 0.6%.

Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index fell 1.1%. Also on the losing side, the Philadelphia/KBW Bank Index slipped 0.3%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector Index eased 0.1%.

Stocks were initially hit after the Census Bureau said that sales of new homes unexpectedly fell 3.9% to 848,000 annualized units in February from a revised 882,000 in January. Economists had expected sales to rise to 985,000 annualized units.

To view Gregg Greenberg's video take on today's market, click here.