Trader John Panin, left, and James Denaro consult on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, March 28, 2013. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at a record high Thursday, beating the mark it set in October 2007. The S&P rose six points to 1,569, a gain of 0.4 percent, beating its previous record by four points. The index is still shy of its all-time trading high of 1,576. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader John Panin, left, and James Denaro consult on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, March 28, 2013. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed at a record high Thursday, beating the mark it set in October 2007. The S&P rose six points to 1,569, a gain of 0.4 percent, beating its previous record by four points. The index is still shy of its all-time trading high of 1,576. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks edged lower on Wall Street Monday after an industry group reported that U.S. manufacturing growth cooled in March and was weaker than economists had forecast.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 20 points, or 0.1 percent, at 14,558 as of 12:42 p.m. EDT. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped eight points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,561. The Nasdaq composite fell 29 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,238.
U.S. manufacturing kept growing for a fourth straight month in March, but at a slower rate, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The ISM's manufacturing index dropped to 51.3 from 54.2 in February. Economists polled by the data provider FactSet had expected the index to come in at 54.
The S&P 500 ended the first quarter last week by closing at an all-time high of 1,569.19, surpassing its previous record close of 1,565.15 set on Oct. 9, 2007. The index has recaptured all of its losses from the financial crisis and the Great Recession and has gained 9.4 percent since the start of the year and the Dow is 11 percent higher.
As stocks have climbed this year, so have investor expectations for economic reports, said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade.
"The numbers have to be outstanding in order to drive the market higher," said Kinahan. "It's a different mindset when we're at these levels."
Industrial companies led declines for the S&P 500, dropping 1 percent. 3M, which makes Post-it notes, industrial products and construction materials, fell 66 cents to $105.6. Caterpillar, a maker of construction and mining equipment, dropped $1.23 to $85.73.
Gains for stocks this year have been driven by optimism that the housing market is recovering and employers and starting to hire again. Strong company earnings and continuing stimulus from the Federal Reserve have also increased demand for stocks.
EBay rose $1.95 to $56.16. The company said late Friday that it expects revenue and profit to keep heading higher in the coming years as its e-commerce business and fast-growing PayPal payments service continue to expand.
Brewer Molson Coors, which counts Coors and Miller Lite among its beers, rose $2.34 to $51.28 after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the stock to "Buy" from "Neutral," citing a better outlook for beer sales as the economy improves.
The new month should give investors cause for optimism.
April is historically the second-strongest month for stocks, Deutsche Bank said in report today. The S&P 500 has gained an average of 1.4 percent in April, based on returns since 1960, making it the second strongest month after December.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, fell to 1.84 percent from 1.85 percent.
Markets were closed in observance of Good Friday last week. European markets were closed Monday for Easter.
Among other stocks making big moves;
? Tesla Motors jumped $8.06 to $45.95 after the electric car company said sales are running ahead of schedule. The Palo Alto, Calif., company said Sunday night that first-quarter sales have exceeded 4,750 Model S sedans, above prior guidance of 4,500.
? DFC Global, a finance company that provides loans to consumers without bank accounts, fell $3.08 to $13.56 after it slashed its earnings outlook for its fiscal year.
? American Greetings rose $1.95 to $18.05 after the company agreed to be taken private for about $602 million by a group led by some of its top executives.
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