Angst Reigns on Wall Street

Updated from 4:16 p.m. EDT

U.S. stocks were volatile again Monday and closed mixed, as traders weighed cautious comments from Federal Reserve officials against positive news out of the tech sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung in a 160-point range before ending up 14.47 points, or 0.11%, at 13,127.85. The S&P 500 slipped 1.85 points, or 0.13%, to 1451.70, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 6.59 points, or 0.26%, at 2559.11.

"This was typical behavior of a nervous market this is still awaiting more news from the Fed," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with Avalon Partners. "A lot of today was technical movement. We're probably going to have an indecisive market that is held in captivity until we get that Fed decision next week."

Breadth was slightly negative to start the week. On the New York Stock Exchange 2.74 billion shares changed hands Monday, as decliners topped advancers by an 3-to-2 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 1.78 billion shares, with losers outpacing winners nearly 6 to 5.

With little economic data on the docket, traders were focusing on remarks from several Fed bankers. San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen told the National Association for Business Economics that the recent financial market turmoil will prolong the housing sector adjustment.

"I see significant downward pressure based on recent data indicating further weakening in the housing sector and the tightening of financial markets," said Yellen. "A big issue is whether developments in the relatively small housing sector will spread to the large consumption sector, perhaps through declines in house prices."