"From where we sit right now, we think the economy looks fundamentally stronger"
- Marisa Di Natale, an economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester
U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday after Francois Hollande was elected as a French president and Greek voters turned to anti-bailout parties. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.04%, or 0.48 points, to 1,369.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.23%, or 29.74 points, to 13,008.53.
"There are still many hurdles in Europe," said Matt McCormick, a fund manager at Bahl & Gaynor Inc. in Cincinnati. "There are no easy answers and the electorate is rejecting austerity. People will take a renewed focus on Europe and that focus is not positive."
Experts claim the world's largest economy is still improving despite disappointing non-farm payroll report last week.
"From where we sit right now, we think the economy looks fundamentally stronger," said Marisa Di Natale, an economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "Surveys of business and consumer confidence are better, the labor market data looks a lot better than it did last year, even some of the housing data looks better."
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