NEW YORK — Wall Street fluctuated today as investors sifted through a range of reports on how companies are handling a slumping economy and tight credit markets.

Blackstone Group, the private equity firm, posted a loss for the first quarter. The worse-than-expected results came amid tough credit conditions and a big stake in the troubled bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co.

A letter to shareholders Monday from MBIA Inc.'s chief executive saying the bond insurer was starting to write new business failed to reinvigorate the strugging bond insurance industry. MBIA rose modestly in early trading, but other bond insurers fell.

The embattled mortgage lender Thornburg Mortgage Inc. also plunged after a downgrade from a Jefferies & Co. analyst.

But McDonald's Corp. gave the market a dose of positive news. The company's sales at stores open for at least a year jumped by 8.3 percent year-to-date in February.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 24.50, or 0.21 percent, to 11,869.19.

Broader stock indicators also dipped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 3.90, or 0.30 percent, at 1,289.47, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 2.35, or 0.11 percent, to 2,210.14.

Last week, increasing worries about the economy and the continuing fallout from the credit crisis pounded the stock market. The Dow ended down 3.04 percent, the S&P 500 index was off 2.80 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index closed with a loss of 2.60 percent.

In positive economic news Monday, the Commerce Department said U.S. wholesale inventories increased in January by 0.8 percent, more than expected, and U.S. wholesaler sales rose 2.7 percent, their widest jump since March 2004.

More closely-watched economic data is scheduled to arrive later in the week. The Commerce Department's retail sales report comes out Thursday, and the Labor Department issues the consumer price index on Friday.

Recent record-breaking surges in commodities prices have worried many investors about whether the Federal Reserve might hesitate to lower key rates by as much as they want — at least a half percentage point. The central bank meets on Tuesday, and over the past few months, policy makers have cited the staggering economy as a greater risk than inflation.

On Monday, commodities prices pulled back, while the dollar traded mixed. Gold fell below $965 an ounce, while crude oil fell 55 cents to $104.60 a barrel.

There is great concern that the Fed's moves might not be enough to keep the sagging economy out of recession. News from the Labor Department Friday that the economy lost 63,000 jobs last month set off another steep drop in stocks.

Early Monday, JPMorgan analysts slashed their year-end target for the S&P 500 index and earnings for S&P 500 companies, after the bank's chief economist said he believes a recession began in January.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.09, or 0.17 percent, to 659.02.

McDonald's, a Dow component, rose $1.63, or 3.2 percent, to $53.90.

Thornburg Mortgage sank 59 cents, or 32 percent, to $1.20.

Bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc. fell $1.79, or 19 percent, to $7.71.

MBIA rose 12 cents to $12.10.

Most Asian markets sank Monday, some in response to Wall Street's losses last week, with Tokyo's market falling to a 2 1/2-year low. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 stock average tumbled 250.67 points, or 1.96 percent, to 12,532.13 points, its lowest since September 2005.

Hong Kong's market bucked the trend, with a recovery in afternoon trading driven by bargain-hunting and gains at the bank HSBC. The Hang Seng Index rose 203.72 points, or 0.9 percent, to 22,705.05.

Stocks were modestly higher on European exchanges. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.16 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.21 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.03 percent.