The late-summer lull is about to end. Stocks fell Thursday, with investors too worried about high gas prices and stagnant employment to be impressed by higher consumer spending.
Monday is the only business day in the week that has historically come out a loser for the stock market, with the Dow finishing down 52 percent of the time over the past 84 years.
U.S. stocks are closing mixed after flitting all day between tiny gains and losses. The Dow Jones industrial average is closing down 10 points to 13,165, a move of just 0.08 percent.