Stocks eked out a gain Monday as banks got a boost from a jump in new-home sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial Averagerose 15.27, or 0.2 percent, to close at 9,108.51. The S&P 500added 0.3 percent, while theNasdaq gained just 0.1 percent.
Stocks had struggled for much of the day as investors worried about a a record $200 billion in Treasury auctions this week and lowered outlooks from Honeywell and Aetna cast a shadow over the market.
This comes after a strong run for stocks that brought the Dow its best two-week performance since 2000.
Adding a layer of anxiety to the market is a record $200 billion of government debt hitting the market this week. It kicked off with $6 billion of 20-year TIPS, or inflation-protected securities, which had a high yield of 2.387 percent. The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.27, the highest in history.
The Treasury also auctioned $32 billion of three-month bills and $31 billion of six-month bills to decent demand as part of its routine weekly auction.
The concern is that traders are seeing signs of economic recovery, yet the government is still hauling out record debt offerings, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management.
"They're worried that, if the economy starts to pick up and the government still has to come in with such offerings, will the credit markets start to tighten up?" Paulsen observed. "What happens if the economy starts to recover? It’s one thing to raise this type of money in a recession — another thing if it’s growing," he explained.
Plus, they're worried that the impact of all this debt could cause China and other big buyers to start dumping U.S. bonds, he said.
Bank stocks, which have lagged in recent weeks,
were among the day's top gainers after a report showed n