Real estate, banks slip in U.S. markets

Wall Street capped a mostly listless day of trading Monday with an uneven finish for U.S. stock indexes.

Gains by technology and materials stocks were mostly outweighed by losses among real estate companies, banks, and other sectors. Macy's and other big retailers also took hefty losses.

Energy companies rose as the price of crude oil rebounded from an early slide.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.25 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,427.43. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 5.82 points, or 0.03 percent, to 21,408.52. The Nasdaq composite rose 23.31 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,176.39. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 7.36 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,408.47.

The S&P 500's technology sector, which went through a sell-off a few weeks ago, notched the biggest gain Monday. Chipmaker Nvidia Corp. led the group, climbing $6.94, or 4.7 percent, to $153.70.

Materials companies also posted big gains. CF Industries Holdings Inc. led the pack, adding $1.83, or 6.6 percent, to $29.72.

Big department stores slumped, led by Macy's. The company was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, sliding $1.60, or 7.1 percent, to $21.08. Gap Inc. fell $1.43, or 6.3 percent, to $21.21. Best Buy lost $3.64, or 6.3 percent, to $54.23.

Teen fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch sank 21.1 percent after the struggling chain said over the weekend that it's no longer up for sale. The company, which said in May that it was talking with several possible buyers, said that sales remain strong at its surf-inspired Hollister Co. brand. The stock shed $2.57 to $9.59.

Investors welcomed news of deals that were actually moving forward.

Hawaiian Telcom Inc. surged 18.1 percent on news that the phone company will combine with Cincinnati Bell in a deal that Hawaiian Telcom said is worth $650 million, or $30.75 per share of its stock. As part of the deal, Cincinnati Bell is buying another company, OnX Enterprise Solutions, for $201 million. Shares in Hawaiian Telcom added $4.43 to $28.87. Cincinnati Bell slid $1.35, or 7 percent, to $18.

PepsiCo Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. are among the big companies due to report their latest quarterly results this week. JPMorgan Chase & Co., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., and Citigroup Inc. report earnings on Friday.

Energy futures notched gains. Benchmark U.S. crude added 17 cents to settle at $44.40 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, also rose 17 cents to close at $46.88 a barrel in London.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline stayed about the same at $1.50 a gallon. Heating oil also held steady at $1.45 a gallon. Natural gas rose 7 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $2.93 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold inched up $3.50 to $1,213.20 an ounce. Silver added 20 cents to $15.63 an ounce. Copper was little changed at $2.65 a pound.

In currency trading, the dollar rose to 114.05 yen from 113.99 yen late Friday. The euro slipped to $1.1403 from $1.1404.