Stocks finished a back-and-forth session mixed today as investors grappled with weaker-than-expected economic data and weighed the chances of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates.

Stocks in the US finished a back-and-forth session mixed today as investors grappled with weaker-than-expected economic data and weighed the chances of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates.

In a rout once considered almost inconceivable, Democrats seemingly won a 51st seat in the Senate and regained total control of Congress after 12 years of near-domination by the Republican Party.