Stocks Stall, Finish Mixed

Markets ended mixed today, burdened by high oil prices and shaky financials. "It's been a terrible market. It definitely looks like we're going to re-test the lows all this week," an economist tells the Wall Street Journal. The Dow ended down 0.33 at 11,842.36, the Nasdaq down 20.35 at 2,385.74, and the S&P 500 up 0.07 at 1,318.00.

Investors were cautious ahead of the possibility that the 2-day Fed meeting that starts tomorrow will result in higher interest rates. Just under 1.1 billion shares changed hands, the slowest trading day in over a month. The Dow was hit by a 7% plunge by General Motors shares, and oil prices walloped other automakers as well as airline shares. (More oil prices stories.)