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Hong Kong protests sink stocks

NEW YORK - Concerns over high stock prices and global politics continued to plague markets Monday as major stock indexes ended with slight losses in another day of choppy trading. Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, a major world financial center, added to the host of political concerns on investors' minds.

NEW YORK - Concerns over high stock prices and global politics continued to plague markets Monday as major stock indexes ended with slight losses in another day of choppy trading. Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, a major world financial center, added to the host of political concerns on investors' minds.

It could have been worse. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 178 points in the opening minutes, a sudden drop of 1 percent, but then it climbed back.

"You have a ton of risks that have brought back in the market's focus," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial in Waltham, Mass. "There's just a heck of a lot of uncertainty right now."

The Dow lost 41.93 points, or 0.25 percent, to 17,071.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 5.05 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,977.80. The Nasdaq composite slipped 6.34 points, or 0.14 percent, to 4,505.85.

DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind Shrek and Madagascar, soared 26 percent following reports that Japan's SoftBank Corp. is in talks to buy the company. DreamWorks gained $5.82 to $28.18.

The market has turned choppy in recent weeks, flipping between solid gains and steep losses. Since hitting a record on Sept. 18, the S&P 500 has slipped 1.7 percent. Coming after a calm summer, the slide has set off a flurry of worried calls to brokerages.

John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial in Boston, said many investors think the market has gone too long without a major fall. "I can't tell you how many calls we're getting now asking, 'Is this it? Is this the big one?" ' he said.

One reason for the recent turbulence is that the stock market appears "priced for perfection," McMillan said. It's an increasingly common saying among investors, and it means the S&P 500 is so high that corporate profits and the economy have to keep improving just to sustain current prices. Good news isn't enough.

"The question is no longer, are we doing well? It's are we doing even better?" McMillan said. "When you pay for perfection, anything shy of that is a disappointment."

Prices for U.S. government bonds rose, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.48 percent Monday from 2.53 percent late Friday.

In commodities trading, the price of gold edged up $3.40 to settle at $1,218.80 an ounce, silver rose three cents to $17.57 an ounce, and copper rose two cents to $3.06 a pound.

In oil trading, the price rose amid signs that U.S. refineries are demanding more crude oil to boost output of gasoline. Benchmark U.S. oil gained $1.03 to $94.57 a barrel. Gasoline futures increased 3.44 cents to $2.696 a gallon. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, rose 20 cents to $97.20 a barrel in London.