Stocks Start Trading Week With Modest Rally

The U.S. stock market continued to rebound on Monday with the S&P 500 closing around 10 points below a previous resistance level in the 1,650 area.

The Dow led the major averages on the session, while the Nasdaq only recorded a small gain. Consumer staples and utilities led the modest rally while technology was a laggard and finished in the red on the day.

Treasury prices rebounded after experiencing big losses on Friday and the U.S. Dollar retraced some of its recent gains. In economic news, consumer credit saw a big jump for May, exceeding consensus expectations by a wide margin.

Major Averages
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 89 points, or 0.59 percent, to close at 15,225.

The S&P 500 rose almost 9 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1,640.

The Nasdaq added a little more than 5 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 3,485.

Consumer Credit
Consumer credit rose by $19.6 billion in May after increasing just $10.9 billion in April. This represented the largest increase in credit since May 2012 and compared to consensus estimates calling for consumer credit to rise $13.2 billion.

Commodities
Crude oil prices were slightly lower to start the trading week on Monday. At last check, NYMEX crude futures were down 0.18 percent to $103.03. Brent crude futures were lower by 0.43 percent to $107.26. Natural gas was last trading up 3.15 percent on the day to $3.73.
Precious metals rose to start the trading week. At last check, COMEX gold futures were up almost 2 percent to $1,235.50. Silver contracts were higher by 1.76 percent to $19.07.

In the grains complex, corn and wheat climbed on the session. Corn futures were last up 1.88 percent while wheat added 0.45 percent. Movers in soft commodities included coffee and lumber. Coffee futures rose 1.81 percent while lumber traded down 2.26 percent.

Bonds
Bond prices rose on Monday after plunging last Friday. At last check, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was up 1.14 percent to $107.48. Yields fell as prices rose on Monday.

Yields on Treasuries were as follows to start the week. The 2-Year Note was yielding 0.36 percent while the 5-Year Note yield was 1.50 percent. The 10-Year Note yield was 2.64 percent while the 30-Year Bond yield was sitting at 3.64 percent.

Currencies
The U.S. Dollar was lower on Monday. Near the close of equities, the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.33 percent to $22.83.

The closely watched EUR/USD pair was last trading up 0.34 percent to $1.2875. The only other significant mover on the day in the currency market was the AUD/USD, which rose 0.85 percent.

Volatility and Volume
Late on Monday, the VIX was unchanged at 14.89. In recent weeks, the widely watched measure of volatility expectations has been falling amid a rally in stocks.

Volume was very light on the session. Around 88 million SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) shares traded hands compared to a 3-month daily average of 144 million.

Stock Movers
Linn Energy LLC (LINE) rose better than 8 percent on the session after analysts at Bank of America upgraded the stock to Buy. Shares had been falling in recent days in the wake of an informal SEC inquiry.

Shares of the Jones Group (JNY) spiked around 7 percent in intra-day trading on Monday after reports surfaced that the company had hired Citigroup to explore a possible sale.

SolarCity (SCTY) was trading up around 8 percent late on Monday. The reason for the move in the shares was not immediately apparent.

Santarus (SNTS) had climbed around 7 percent late on Monday after JMP Securities launched coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating.

Priceline.com (PCLN) climbed almost 4 percent on Monday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight.

Noodles & Co. (NDLS) fell around 9 percent late on Monday. The stock rose sharply after going public on July 1.

Celldex Therapeutics (CLDX) fell around 8 percent on profit-taking on Monday. The stock rose sharply last Friday.

Intel (INTC) fell almost 4 percent on Monday after Evercore downgraded the stock to Underperform and cut its price target to $20. Both Evercore and Citi also cut forecasts through 2014.

Natus Medical (BABY) cut its second-quarter guidance on an unexpected decline in international revenue. The stock lost around 13 percent in the wake of the news.

ClickSoftware Technologies (CKSW) lost 10 percent after the company said that second-quarter growth will be lower than previously expected.

BY Scott Rubin