The Dow Jones industrials ($INDU -0.11%) actually finished up about two points for the month, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX -0.39%) and the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX -0.74%) were off 0.8% and 1.5% for the month.
Blame Spain for the market's 's decline. The European nation has slipped back into recession as it struggles to gain control of its debt and economy. In addition, Standard & Poor's downgraded 11 Spanish banks today. The worries over Europe have pushed the dollar higher against the euro and other major currencies. Treasury yields were lower. So were gold (-GC) and crude oil (-CL) in New York.
At the same time, a Midwestern gauge of the economy fell to its lowest levels in 29 months as the U.S. economic recovery appears to be slowing down. A national report on manufacturing, due Tuesday, and Friday's jobs report will be critical measures of the recovery's strength.
Barnes & Noble (BKS +51.68%) shares jumped $7.07 to $20.75 after Microsoft (MSFT +0.11%) agreed to invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble's Nook business. The move gives the Nook more backing in its competitive battle with Apple's (AAPL -3.15%) iPad and Amazon.com's (AMZN +2.23%) produce lines. But skepticism remains about the Nook's progress, particularly with the Nook tablet. Barnes & Noble had risen to as high as $26 right after the open. Microsoft, the publisher of MSN Money, closed up 5 cents to $32.03.
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The Dow closed off 15 points to 13,214. The S&P 500 was off 5 points to 1,398, and the Nasdaq had dropped 23 points to 3,046. The Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX -0.64%), heavily influenced by Apple, was off 18 points to 2,724.
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