Stocks Little Changed In Quiet Trade

Monday was a slow day in the equity markets, with the major averages closing near the unchanged mark.

There were no significant domestic economic reports and news flow was muted. Among the day's top stories, however, was the upgrade in the outlook for U.S. debt from "negative" to "stable" at Standard & Poor's, removing the near-term threat of another downgrade.

Major Averages
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell around 10 points, or 0.06 percent, to 15,239.

The S&P 500 lost less than a point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 1,643.

The Nasdaq added a little less than 5 points, or 0.13 percent, to 3,474.

Commodities
Crude oil futures traded down slightly on Monday. Near the close of equities, NYMEX crude futures were down 0.25 percent to $95.79 while Brent contracts had lost 0.70 percent to $103.83. At last check, natural gas was lower by 0.68 percent to $3.80.

Precious metals were up marginally on the session. COMEX gold futures were last up 0.22 percent to $1,386.00. Silver contracts had risen 0.86 percent and were last trading at $21.93. Copper lost a little less than 1 percent on the day to $3.2405.

In the grains complex, both corn and wheat fell to start the week. At last check, corn contracts were down 2.24 percent while wheat had lost a little less than 1 percent. Movers in soft commodities included coffee, which climbed 1.42 percent, and cotton, which was up better than 2 percent on the day.

Bonds
Near the close of equities, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was trading down 0.50 percent to $112.59. Yields rose as prices fell on the day.

The yield on the 2-Year Note was last at 0.31 percent, after rising eight basis points over the last month. The 5-Year Note yield was at 1.12 percent and the 10-Year yield was sitting at 2.21 percent. Over the last month, the 30-Year Bond yield has risen twenty-seven basis points to 3.36 percent.

Currencies
The U.S. Dollar was essentially unchanged on Monday. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, was last down 0.02 percent to $22.16.

The closely watched EUR/USD pair was last trading up 0.30 percent to $1.3258. The Japanese Yen fell sharply against the greenback to start the week, with the USD/JPY last up 1.24 percent.

Volatility and Volume
The VIX rose on Monday despite little change in equity markets. At last check, the widely watched barometer of volatility expectations had climbed 2 percent to 15.44.

Volume was lighter than usual on the session after elevated trading levels last week. Around 93 million SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) shares traded hands on the day compared to a 3-month daily average of 131 million.

Stock Movers
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) jumped around 15 percent on Monday after hedge fund Baker Brothers disclosed a 22.6 percent stake in the stock last week.

Sodastream International (SODA) rose 5 percent on Monday on continued speculation about a possible acquisition.

RF Micro Devices (RFMD) climbed around 4 percent on the session. The reason for the move in the stock was not immediately clear.

Shares of Dynavax Technologies (DVAX) lost around 43 percent after the FDA said that the company doesn't have enough data to confirm the safety of its hepatitis B vaccine Heplisav.

Titan International (TWI) fell almost 14 percent on Monday after the company said that it plans to lower its full-year guidance.

Consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) lost a little less than 3 percent after a former employee, Edward Snowden, revealed that he was the source of the leaks regarding NSA spying programs.

BY Scott Rubin