US Market Commentary (After Market Close): Mixed Interest Leaves S&P 500 Flat

The stock market spent most of the session trading without clear direction as participants took a bit of a breather following the previous session's heady advance. That left the major indices to settle in mixed fashion.

Stocks oscillated throughout the session as the U.S. dollar fluctuated against other major currencies after it dropped sharply in the previous session. The greenback initially found support as the British pound weakened in the wake of news that credit analysts at Fitch said Britain is the most likely of the major economies to lose its AAA credit rating. Representatives from the United Kingdom maintain that the credit rating remains safe. That helped the pound trim its losses and undercut the dollar; the Dollar Index finished flat after being up as much as 0.3%.

The dollar's failure to sustain its gain helped materials stocks reverse a loss of more than 1% to settle with a modest gain of 0.2%. Monsanto (MON 73.66, +3.66) provided late leadership to the sector after it had lagged into midafternoon trade. Investors had been unimpressed with the company's reaffirmed 2010 outlook, but comments during its investor conference helped improve their mood.

Financials had also lagged for most of the session, but failed to make their way into positive ground. In turn, they finished with a 0.5% loss. AIG (AIG 37.59, +1.41) helped provide support to the sector, though. According to Bloomberg.com, Moody's said the insurer will be able to repay its Federal Reserve credit line and much or all of the Treasury's investment if financial markets stabilize.

Though stocks finished in mixed fashion, the Dow was able to set a fractionally better 2009 closing high. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 continues to encounter resistance as it approaches its own 2009 highs; it settled flat.

Treasuries saw some mixed interest this session, too. The benchmark 10-year Note was up modestly in early trade, but surrendered its gains following the results from a $25 billion auction of 10-year Notes. The auction attracted a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.8, which is above the recent average of 2.6, but below the last auction's bid-to-cover of 3.0. The auction also produced a yield of 3.47%. The 10-year Note was able to reclaim gains and settle fractionally higher, however.