Dow recovers from 184-point drop to edge higher

Dead cat rebounding or panic selling is over?

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks had another wild day, but there was no big event, no surprise announcement behind the swings.

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

Shortly after noon Eastern time, the Dow Jones industrials were down 184 points. It looked like they would add to the pile of triple-digit losses they've suffered over the past two weeks as investors worried that Europe's economic problems would spread to the U.S.

But the euro, which seesawed after earlier falling to $1.2237, finally started its move higher -- a bumpy move, but an upward one nonetheless. The Dow also racheted higher, finally 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 U.S. And so, when it started rising Monday, stock traders interpreted its move as a "buy" sign.