U.S. Stocks Waver on Italian Stalemate

(TheStreet) -- U.S. stocks were mixed Tuesday after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a key budget vote but lost his majority, leading to a political deadlock. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was falling 51 points, or 0.4%, at 12,018. The S&P 500 was down 3 points, or 0.2%, at 1258, and the Nasdaq was behind by 4 points, or 0.2%, at 2691. The "markets appear to have entered a period of indecision, as it appears seemingly unending data points from Europe are balanced with some structural investment management trends," says TEAM Asset Strategy Fund manager James Dailey. "The developments in Europe are highly uncertain and unpredictable, which creates an environment of indecision. However, the vast majority of investment managers are trailing their benchmarks badly for 2011 and fear missing out on a year-end move into risk assets."

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