NEW YORK (AP) - Investors might be worried about the soundness of the market's rally but they are also worried about missing it.

Stocks reversed steep losses in the final hour of trading yesterday to end little changed. The Dow Jones Industrial average recovered from a 130-point slide to end up a little more than one point.

The day offered little economic and corporate news to guide investors. Add in light trading volume, and traders said the mix was right for volatility.

Stephen Carl, head of equity trading at The Williams Capital Group in New York, said the light volume made the market susceptible to quick changes in direction. With fewer players in the market it takes little to nudge stocks from one direction to the other.

"On light volume they're just kind of looking for anything," he said, referring to traders seeking signals about which way to trade.

Volume picked up somewhat in the final hour and investors moved into stocks of financial companies and retailers.

Falling commodities prices had spooked investors earlier yesterday, but prices for key industrial materials closed off their lows for the day, providing some relief to the stock market.

Commodities prices have been rallying in recent weeks on optimism that a pickup in manufacturing would increase demand for raw materials like copper, silver and oil. The recovery in both stock and commodity prices late yesterday suggested that investors have not given up on hopes for a turnaround in the economy.

Traders said the market is still trying to determine whether to proceed with a powerful three-month rally.

"There's a growing sense of confusion as to when exactly this decline in the economy will end and what kind of expansion will come on the heels of it," said Joseph Battipaglia, market strategist for the private client group at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 1.36, or less than 0.1 percent, to 8,764.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.95, or 0.1 percent, to 939.14, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 7.02, or 0.4 percent, to 1,842.4.

Commodities producers including Alcoa Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. weighed on the market much of the day.

Like stocks, commodities have been rallying on expectations of an economic recovery. Demand for commodities would likely increase as the economy strengthens.

Monday's pullback in commodities prices was also due in part to strength in the dollar, which can hurt demand for raw materials by making them more expensive.

Aluminum producer Alcoa fell 17 cents to $10.77, while Freeport-McMoRan slid 68 cents to $56.48.

Light, sweet crude fell 35 cents to settle at $68.09 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Investors were also cautious ahead of the latest report card on banks. The government is expected to announce this week which banks will be allowed to return bailout funds. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and American Express Co. are expected to get approval to repay their loans, according to The Washington Post.

Other banks that were told by the government last month to raise funds to help protect against a worsening in the economy must submit plans yesterday about how they are raising that capital.

JPMorgan rose 84 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $35.39, while Goldman fell 66 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $148.35. Amex rose 70 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $25.65.

Dan Deming, a trader with Strutland Equities, said investors are worried that the Federal Reserve might have to raise interest rates to curb inflation. Higher rates could make mortgages and other loans more expensive.

Inflation worries come as oil sits near six-month highs and as unemployment stands at a 26-year high. The government said on Friday that employers cut 345,000 jobs last month, the fewest since September. But unemployment remains at a high 9.4 percent after four months of slowing lay-offs.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year note, a widely used benchmark for home mortgages, rose to 3.9 percent from 3.84 percent late on Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill rose to 0.18 percent from 0.17 percent on Friday.

Short-term Treasurys got hit hard for the second day. The yield on the two-year note jumped to 1.42 percent from 1.31 percent Friday. On Thursday, the yield was 0.97 percent.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 5.57, or 1.1 percent, to 524.79.

Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.1 billion shares, versus 1.3 billion on Friday.