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New York - US stocks made slight gains on Monday, after an exuberant early rally sparked by the apparent downfall of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi gave way to gloom over the US economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 37.00 points (0.34%) to 10,854.65.
The broader S&P 500 edged up 0.29 point (0.03%) to 1 123.82, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 3.54 points (0.15%) to close at 2 345.38.
News that Libya's six-month rebellion was on the verge of toppling Kadhafi, with rebels capturing central Tripoli, propelled the Dow more than 1.8% higher in early trading.
"The strong opening was based on the fact that Kadhafi is about to be overthrown. Europe rallied big on that," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
But he added: "What we are seeing is trading with no real conviction. Everyone is waiting to see what Mr. Bernanke has to say on Friday."
On Friday, US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke is due to give a speech which is expected to be closely watched by investors for signs of whether he endorses a further loosening of monetary policy to stimulate the ailing US economy.
US stock markets have fallen for four consecutive weeks amid fears of a new economic slowdown in the United States and fallout from Europe's debt crisis, with the Dow dropping four percent last week.
Hewlett-Packard surged 3.6% on Monday, recouping some of its losses from Friday, when its share price plunged more than 20%.
Investors have been unhappy about the tech giant's plan, unveiled last week, to spin off its personal computer business and make a costly acquisition of British software firm Autonomy as part of a broad strategic makeover.
Bank of America shares plunged 7.9% amid reports that its proposed $8.5bn settlement for losses on mortgage-backed securities might be falling apart.
The bank is hoping that the huge settlement, for losses on mortgage-backed securities that it sold before 2008, would help it emerge from the fallout of the financial crisis.
Boeing rose 1.5% after the Bloomberg news agency reported that Delta Air Lines was planning to buy 100 of the manufacturer's 737 jets.
Delta confirmed it was in talks to buy new aircraft but declined to comment on the details of the report. Delta shares rose 0.1%.
