Stocks Close Session Mixed; Dow and S&P Gain, Nasdaq Falls

The U.S. stock market traded higher in the early going on Monday after ISM manufacturing data showed improving sentiment from purchasing managers. The index reading was 51.5 versus expectations of 49.2. The major averages came off of their session highs, however, as the session wore on and finished near the day's lows. The Dow and S&P, however, still managed respectable gains, while the Nasdaq recorded a small loss.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose around 78 points to close at 13,515. The widely watched blue-chip average traded in a range between 13,437 and 13,598.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) recorded a gain of 0.26 percent to close at $144.35. Volume was slightly above average with around 128 million SPY shares trading hands versus a 3-month daily average of 123 million.

The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq 100, fell 0.15 percent to $68.47. The loss for the tech-heavy index was driven in part by a better than 1 percent decline in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Crude oil was largely unchanged on the day. At last check, NYMEX crude futures had recorded a gain of 0.10 percent to $92.28 in the GLOBEX electronic session. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) closed New York Stock Exchange trading up 0.35 percent to $34.25.

Gold futures continue to trade at multi-month highs and had notched a gain of 0.29% to $1,779 at last check. The heavily traded SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE:GLD) rose 0.19 percent to $172.35 during the stock trading day.

Treasuries also finished in the green on Monday. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:TLT) added 0.35 percent to $124.41. The yield on the 10-Year Note fell 1.9 basis points to 1.61 percent.

The U.S. Dollar was lower on the session, which helped spur risk appetite. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE:UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, fell 0.23 percent to $21.87. The closely watched EUR/USD pair rose 0.26 percent to $1.2886.