Dow Jones Nears 13,000 Yet Again

The Dow Jones industrial average narrowly missed 13,000. Again.

The Dow spent much of Monday above 13,000. As the minutes of the trading day ticked away, it bounced just above and below the milestone. But a burst of selling in the final minutes drove the Dow to 12,982, down a point and a half on the day.

The Dow broke through 13,000 several times last week but hasn't closed above that level since May 19, 2008.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose two points to close at 1,368. The Nasdaq composite index rose two points to close at 2,966.

Advancing and declining stocks were about even on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was light at 3.5 billion shares.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)