Stocks Close Slightly Higher Following Lackluster Session - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving notably higher last week, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Monday. Despite the choppy trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq still ended the session at a new record closing high.

The major averages finished the session slightly above the unchanged line. The Dow inched up 13.96 points or 0.1 percent to 18,100.41, the Nasdaq rose 8.72 points or 0.2 percent to 5,218.86 and the S&P 500 crept up 1.64 points or 0.1 percent to 2,128.28.

The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as many traders stayed on the sidelines amid the lack of major U.S. economic data on the day.

The economic calendar remains relatively light throughout the week, although reports on weekly jobless claims and new and existing home sales are likely to attract some attention.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moved ahead of the release of earnings news from a number of big-name companies in the coming days.

Apple (AAPL), Yahoo (YHOO), Verizon (VZ), General Motors (GM), Coca-Cola (KO), and Microsoft (MSFT) are among the slew of companies due to release their results this week.

Meanwhile, traders largely shrugged off the latest developments for Greece, which re-opened its banks and started the process of paying back its international creditors.

Capital controls remain in place, but Greeks can now withdraw up to 420 euros a week as opposed to the previous withdrawal limit of 60 euros per day.

Among individual stocks, shares of Vivint Solar (VSLR) moved sharply higher after the solar equipment maker agreed to be acquired by SunEdison (SUNE) and its unit TerraForm Power (TERP) for about $2.2 billion.

Toymaker Hasbro (HAS) also showed a strong move to the upside after reporting second quarter earnings that came in above analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Yelp (YELP) came under pressure after Barclays downgraded its rating on the online review site to Equal Weight from Overweight.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Gold stocks saw substantial weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 12.1 percent. With the drop, the index fell to its lowest closing level in over twelve years.

The sell-off by gold stocks came amid a sharp drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery plummeting $21.50 to a five-year low of $1,106.80 an ounce.

Significant weakness was also visible among natural gas stocks, as reflected by the 3 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index. The weakness in the sector came as natural gas for August delivery fell $0.47 to $2.823 per million BTUs.

Electronic storage, oil, and airline stocks also moved to the downside on the day, while some strength was visible among internet stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by less than a tenth of a percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries moved moderately lower after ending the two previous sessions nearly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 2.3 basis points to 2.372 percent.

Looking Ahead

Amid another quiet day on the U.S. economic front, trading on Tuesday may be impacted by developments overseas as well as the latest earnings news.

IBM (IBM) is releasing its second quarter results after the close of today's trading, while Travelers (TRV), United Technologies (UTX) and Verizon are among the companies due to report their results before the start of trading on Tuesday.