A mixed bag on the economic data front gave the major indices enough of a push to erase most of their earlier losses. The ISM numbers came in a bit better than expected, but construction spending fell in February. The continual mixed numbers show that the recovery is weak at best and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Europe is also recovering on the heels of the US data. banking stocks continue to weigh on their major indices but the markets there are off their lows thanks to the ISM beat.

The Dow is currently down 14 to 13,198. Nasdaq and S&P 500 are both positive, up 4 and 2 points respectively. [Read more...]