Stocks staged a late rally and closed slightly higher on Monday, rebounding from a broad early decline rooted in concern that Europe’s debt problems could slow the global economic recovery.

“There was volatility, but people felt pretty comfortable. They were just waiting for a rally,” said Bart Barnett, head of listed trading at Morgan Keegan.

“Earnings were halfway decent and people were not in such a hurry to sell stocks. I felt like there was a little more confidence in the market today,” he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average dipped more than 180 points during the day, but started rallying in the afternoon. The index closed up 5.67 points, or 0.05 percent, at 10,625.83.