U.S. stocks fluctuated on Monday as the U.S. government delayed the expected announcement of a new financial rescue plan and corporates delivered gloomy results, Xinhua reported.
Investors are also waiting for the U.S. Senate to vote on a compromise stimulus package on Tuesday.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to unveil measures about a new round of banking aid. It is speculated that the U.S. government will become a partner with the private sector to purchase banks' troubled assets.
Geithner had planned an announcement on Monday, but delayed it for another day to allow the focus to remain on the stimulus bill in Congress.
Financial shares led the market. Bank of America surged more than 12 percent. Barclay's rose sharply after it said it wouldn't request more capital from the British government.
General Motors shares rose after a news report said the company is in talks to take back large portions of Delphi Corp. to get more U.S. bailout funds. Nissan Motor shares fell after it reported a quarterly loss of 904 million U.S. dollars and announced a job cut of 20,000.
Home appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit dropped by 77 percent, due to a restructuring charge, a recall expense and the stronger dollar.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 9.72, or 0.12 percent, to 8,270.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.29, or 0.15 percent, to 869.89, and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.15, or 0.01 percent, to 1,591.56.