Stocks see mixed results Monday as traders take a breather following strong gains last week. The Dow (DJI) closed the session with a loss of 13.68 points to 10,552.52. The S&P 500 (SPX) gave up just 0.20 points to 1,138.50. The Nasdaq (COMP) gained 5.86 to 2,332.21. Volume remained light with the NYSE trading 906.6 million shares and the Naz turning over 2.19 billion shares. Market breadth was positive by an 18-to-13 and 15-to-13 margin on the Big Board and Naz respectively.

Last week saw the major market indices see their largest gain since early January with the Dow up 2.33 percent. The Naz tacked on 3.94 percent, closing at an 18-month high. However these gains came on light volume, leaving some doubt to the strength of the rally. At the same time, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) hit support near 17, which resulted in a correction back in January. With a lack of market moving news this week, volumes are expected to remain light and we could see some profit taking on any news viewed as bearish.

The Dow closed negative though McDonald's (MCD) did its best to keep the index in the black. The fast-food giant saw its shares rise 2.28 percent to a price of $65.12 after announcing strong same-store sales results. The company announced that same-store sales rose 4.8 percent worldwide, though results in the U.S. were weak at a gain of just 0.6 percent.

Another positive for stocks Monday was further merger announcements. AIG (AIG) announced that it would sale its American Life Insurance Co (Alico) to MetLife (MET). The deal is worth $15.5 billion in cash and stock, which will make AIG about a 20 percent owner in MET. Both stocks saw gains with AIG up 3.63 percent to $29.10 and MET up 5.09 percent to $40.90. This is the second major deal announced by AIG in the past week after agreeing to sell its Asian life unit for $35.5 billion to Britain's Prudential. AIG is doing what it thinks necessary to bring in funds to pay back its bailout.

Upgrades benefited tech stocks with Cisco (CSCO) and Research in Motion (RIMM) getting positive news. Cisco was started with an "Overweight" rating at JPMorgan with a $28 price target. The stock closed the session with a gain of 3.72 percent to $26.15. RIMM tacked on 5.61 percent after BMO raised its rating on the stock to "Outperform" and an $88 price target. RIMM shares closed Monday's session at $73.40.

Tuesday could be another quiet day for stocks with very little market moving news on tap. The economic calendar is light for most the week, although retail sales for February will be released on Friday. Traders might want to hedge bullish trades given the drop in the VIX and the lack of volume during the recent bull move.

Jody Osborne
Senior Writer & Options Strategist
Optionetics.com ~ Your Options Education Site