Market up after roller-coaster ride

NEW YORK - Stocks had another wild day, but there was no big event behind the swings.

All that happened was that the euro, battered to a four-year low Monday before trading began in the United States, started rising again. And the stock market followed the currency shared by 16 European nations.

Shortly after noon, the Dow Jones industrials were down 184 points. It looked as if they would add to the pile of triple-digit losses they have suffered over the last two weeks as investors worried that Europe's economic problems would spread to the United States.

But the euro, which seesawed after earlier falling to $1.2237, finally started its move higher. The Dow also racheted higher, ending with an almost six-point advance.

Investors are looking at the euro as an indicator of confidence in the European economies. The euro has been sliding on concerns that debt problems will undermine Europe's recovery, and in turn that of the United States.

Given stocks' erratic moves over the last few weeks, it's likely that there will be more days like Monday ahead.

Other investments seen as risky had a rough time Monday. Oil traded below $70 a barrel for the first time since February but finished above that psychological benchmark. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar discourages investors from buying oil by making it more expensive. Crude fell $1.53 to $70.08 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Energy stocks, which make up about 10 percent of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, dropped after oil fell. Shares of consumer-staples companies, which are seen as safer bets in weak economies, rose.

Peabody Energy Corp. fell 5.3 percent. Procter & Gamble Co., which makes Tide detergent and Gillette razors, rose 1.3 percent.

Investors are questioning whether steep budget cuts in countries including Greece, Spain, and Portugal will hinder an economic recovery in Europe and, in turn, the United States. The fear is that the world banking system could see a replay of the losses that hobbled financial institutions in late 2008.

The austerity measures are required under a nearly $1 trillion bailout program the European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed to last week. The rescue package provides access to cheap loans for European countries facing mounting debt problems.

Traders are betting that U.S. export growth will continue to slow as Europeans, unnerved by problems at home, show less of an appetite to buy American goods. And if Americans get nervous and spend less on imports, that could further curtail the global recovery.

The Dow rose 5.67, or 0.1 percent, to 10,625.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.26, or 0.1 percent, to 1,136.94, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.38, or 0.3 percent, to 2,354.23.

Analysts say that even a loss in confidence could make it harder for the U.S. economy to bounce back.

A forecast from home-improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. hurt sentiment. The stock fell 81 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $25.26.

Peabody Energy fell $2.20 to $39.61, while Procter & Gamble rose 84 cents to $63.38.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.73, or 0.3 percent, to 695.71.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.2 percent.

In China, the benchmark index in Shanghai fell 5.1 percent to a one-year low on concern that the government will curb lending to slow the economy.