Stocks Finish Mixed Ahead of Government News

Updated from 4:12 p.m. EST

After an up-and-down day, stocks in New York meandered to a mixed close, as more disturbing corporate news arrived, but the economic stimulus and next-step bank bailout did not.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 9.72 points, or 0.1%, at 8270.87, but the S&P 500 added 1.29 points, or 0.1%, to 869.89. The Nasdaq edged down 0.15 points, or 0.01%, to 1591.56.

Bank of America (BAC Quote) and GE (GE Quote) were the best performers on the Dow, rising 12.4% and 13.9%, respectively. Banks in general were higher, with the KBW banking index rising 2.2%, following a strong showing at the end of last week, which was thought to be in anticipation of the coming bank bailout plan.

"While individual company earnings reports are important for specific stocks, the overall market will likely be driven in the short-run by news flows around the financial rescue and fiscal stimulus plans," wrote Bill Stone, chief investment strategist for PNC Financial.

But right now that leaves the market in wait-and-see mode, says Doug Roberts, Chief Investment Strategist for ChannelCapitalResearch.com. "You don't want to take a position one way or the other, you just want to see what the bill looks like." Unless the stimulus package "changes radically," though, he expects it to generate little market enthusiasm.

Rather, it's the bank bailout plan that he sees having a possible effect. Again, though, "we have to see what it looks like," he says. "Just recognizing that there's a degree of insolvency in the banks, that these toxic assets may be quite large, and not assuming a halfway measure could have an impact," says Roberts.