DOW

12,981.51 1.44(0.01%)

By: JeeYeon Park

CNBC.com Writer

Stocks abruptly turned mixed in the final seconds of trading Monday, with the Dow ending in negative territory, while the S&P 500 still managed to log its best close since June 2008.

Still, the Dow and the S&P 500 are both on track to posting their best February since 1998.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 1.44 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 12,981.51, turning lower in the final minutes of trading and failing to close above the psychologically-important 13,000 level.


The Dow was trading in positive territory for most of the session after rebounding from a 100-point drop at the market open.


The S&P 500 rose 1.85 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 1,367.59, logging its best finish since June 2008. The Nasdaq added 2.41 points, or 0.08 percent, to finish at 2,966.16, posting its best close since December 2000.

The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, closed above 18.
On the economic front, pending home sales gained 2 percent to 97.0, surging to a nearly two-year high in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.

European shares slumped after members of the Group of 20 leading economies told Europe it must raise extra funds to combat the ongoing debt crisis if it wants more aid from the rest of the world, adding pressure to Germany to drop its opposition to a bigger European bailout.

Meanwhile, German lawmakers approved a second loan package for Greece even after Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier warned that there was no guarantee the 130 billion ($175 billion) rescue program for the debt-ridden country would succeed.

The euro eased against the U.S. greenback, but strategists believe further gains are possible ahead of the ECB's second offering of unlimited 3-year loans to banks in a longer term refinancing operation (LTRO) on Wednesday.