US stocks ended mostly higher on Monday after yields on short-term Treasury bills came off their session lows, suggesting investors were dipping into riskier assets.

The Dow Jones Industrials ended 42 points stronger hitting 13,121; the S&P500 was mostly flat closing at 1,446, and the Nasdaq managed to gain 4 points to finish at 2,509.

In company news, shares in Countrywide Financial dropped 7.56% to $19.81 after the stock was downgraded by a New York brokerage. This despite the lender taking out full page ads in the New York Times and other newspapers reassuring customers that it's safe to do business with the company. Also, according to the Wall Street Journal online, the company has started laying off staff. Countrywide has not commented on the reports