Another see-saw day for stocks ends with a gain for the Dow

On an up-and-down day in the markets, a merger of big home builders got the credit for most of the ups and the minutes of the Fed's meeting last month took the blame for most of the downs. A late surge pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 48 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 7,837.

Traders, it would appear, are still using any excuse to take a profit or to lighten up after a four-week run, and there are still buyers out there to meet them.