Authors: Carmen Cox

Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- It certainly wasn’t a stellar day on Wall Street, but the reaction to elections in Europe was rather muted.
 
The Dow closed down 29.74 points, while the S&P and NASDAQ ended the day up slightly.
 
Market watchers are speculating that Francois Hollande’s presidential win in France was widely expected, and the anti-austerity backlash isn’t exactly a surprise.   
 
Some investors are also hoping that a growth agenda to go with austerity measures may end up being a bit of good news for Europe.
 
That said, markets could be giving Hollande and the entire Eurozone leadership a reprieve to see how they deal with the latest chapter in the relentless economic crisis.
Meanwhile, gas prices dropped 4 more cents, with the national average dipping to $3.79.  Crude oil prices fell 0.6 percent to $97.94 a barrel.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio 

Read more http://abcnewsradioonline.com/business-news/us-stock-markets-end-the-day-mixed.html