Dow Takes a Step Back

Away from earnings, workers at Chrysler walked off their jobs after the United Auto Workers union failed to reach a labor agreement with the automaker before an 11 a.m. EDT deadline.

Commodity prices were on the rise. Crude oil jumped $1.04 to close at $81.30 a barrel. Gold futures were up $2.90 to $746 an ounce, and silver gained 8 cents to $13.66 an ounce.

The Energy Department will post its weekly inventory report on Thursday, a day later than usual because of the Columbus Day holiday.

Treasury prices withstood early selling and rose late. The 10-year note was up 3/32 in price, cutting the yield to 4.64%. The 30-year bond was adding 2/32 to yield 4.86%. The dollar was slightly weaker against the world's major currencies.

Overseas markets generally improved. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.2%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 crept 0.1% higher. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 added 0.3%, while Germany's Xetra Dax was flat.