Nudged higher in the day’s final minutes, the markets ended barely in the green on Monday, building on what was the best two-week stretch for the Dow in nearly a decade. 

Today’s Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 15.27 points, or 0.17%, to 9108.51, the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 2.92 points, or 0.30%, to 982.18 and the Nasdaq Composite picked up 1.93 points, or 0.10%, to 1967.89. The consumer-friendly FOX 50 added 2.40 points, or 0.34%, to 717.97.

The markets fluctuated between green and red throughout the day as traders digested a new economic report revealing new home sales unexpectedly surged last month and a mixed batch of earnings reports from major companies like Verizon (VZ) and Aetna (AET). 

Stocks closed session highs, leaving the Dow and S&P 500 at their best levels since the first week of November. 

“A lot of the fear seems to be out of this market. We’re not hearing the term ‘deleveraging’ very much at all lately”, NYSE trader Jack Lind of Advanced Equities Services told FOX Business.

The slight gains on Wall Street comes after the Dow surged 11.6% over the past two weeks -- the best two-week stretch since March 2000. Thanks to a stellar start to earnings season, the Dow surged above the 9000 threshold last week and settled at its best level since Nov. 5.

“They just look a little tired today. We’ve had a mixed blessing from the earnings today,” NSYE trader Ted Weisberg of Seaport Securities told FOX Business. “As long as we can stay above this Dow 9000 area, the best-case scenario is we go sideways for a little bit and hopefully we don’t give a lot of this big recent rally back."

Nearly half of the Dow's 30 members closed in the red, led by Verizon and American Express (AXP). On the other hand, Bank of America (BAC) and aluminum titan Alcoa (AA) were two of the index's biggest percentage gainers. 

The markets enjoyed just a fleeting pop after the Commerce Department said new home sales climbed by 11% in June to an annual rate of 384,000 units -- the third consecutive monthly increase. Economists had been expecting a more modest increase of just 2.3%. 

At the same time, the government said inventories fell to 8.8 months’ supply but median prices slid 12% from a year before. Shares of home builders like Centex (CTX) and Standard Pacific (SPF) spiked on the data. 

Telecom giant Verizon became the latest bellwether company to disclose quarterly results that, while weaker than a year ago, managed to exceed Wall Street's low expectations. The lone Dow component to report results Monday beat the Street with an adjusted-profit of 63 cents per share as its revenue jumped 11% to $26.86 billion.

However, the markets were hurt by less-positive news from former Dow member Honeywell (HON) and health provider Aetna. Honeywell cut its full-year forecast below the Street’s view and company executives said the company is "not planning for any recovery in 2009." Honeywell reported an in-line quarterly profit of 60 cents per share, which was 38% lower than a year ago.

At the same time, Aetna slashed its 2009 earnings guidance for the second time since early June as the company said its net income slid a worse-than-expected 28%.

The bond markets are likely to again be in focus this week as the government is set to auction a record $115 billion in Treasury notes this week, in addition to $6 billion in TIPS on Monday. Last week the yield on the 10-year note climbed to its highest level since mid-June amid jitters about the auctions and increased risk appetite.

In the commodity markets, crude oil closed slightly higher after bouncing between positive and negative territory for much of the session. After jumping 5.4% last week, crude settled up 33 cents a barrel, or 0.48%, to $68.38.

Corporate Movers

Aetna (AET), which reported a steeper-than-expected 28% decline in net income, is shopping its pharmacy-benefit management business, The Wall Street Journal reported. The unit has reportedly been shopped to CVS Caremark(CVS), Medco Health Solutions (MHS) and Express Scripts (ESRX). 

Corning (GLW) suffered an 81% decline in second-quarter net income but the glass maker’s EPS of 37 cents beat the Street. Corning reported an in-line 18% decline in revenue.  

RadioShack (RSH) reported a better-than-expected 18% jump in net income but the electronic retailer’s revenue missed estimates, tumbling 2.9% amid a 4% decline in same-store sales. The company’s profit of 39 cents a share exceeded estimates for 28 cents.

Apple (AAPL) is working with the four largest record labels -- EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music (WMG) and Universal Music Group -- to stimulate digital sales of albums, the Financial Times reported. In a project codenamed “Cocktail,” the group is reportedly working to bundle a new interactive booklet, sleeve notes and other interactive features with music downloads. 

Agilent Technologies (A) unveiled a $1.5 billion deal to acquire scientific instruments supplier Varian (VARI) for $52 per share, or 35% above Varian’s closing price Friday. Both companies’ boards have signed off on the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year. 

Medtronic (MDT) reached a deal to pay Abbott Labs (ABT) $400 million to settle a lawsuit on stents. As part of the deal, the two companies said they won’t sue each other over coronary stents and stent-delivery systems for at least 10 years. 

Global Markets

European markets closed higher for the 10th day of the last 11. London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.21% to 4586.13 but France's CAC 40 rose 0.18% to 3372.36 and Germany's DAX gained 0.42% to 5251.55. 

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rallied 1.45% to 10088.66, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.35% to 20251.62 and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 1.86% to 3425.21.