Stocks edged up in Monday afternoon trading, notching mild gains as most ETFs stayed flat or saw small movement.

President Barack Obama delivered a speech from Federal Hall, across Wall Street from the New York Stock Exchange, calling for reform of the financial system. He said tougher regulation would prevent a repeat of the crisis spawned by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

"One year ago, we saw in stark relief how markets can spin out of control; how a lack of common-sense rules can lead to excess and abuse; how close we can come to the brink," Obama said. "One year later, it is incumbent on us to put in place those reforms that will prevent this kind of crisis from ever happening again; that reflect the painful but important lessons we ve learned; and that will help us move from a period of recklessness and crisis to one of responsibility and prosperity. That is what we must do. And I m confident that is what we will do."

The Dow went into positive territory after the speech, which was short on detail. Reform efforts have been viewed skeptically on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 21 points at 9627. The Nasdaq rose 11 to 2092 and the S& P 500 climbed 7 points to 1049.

For a detailed rundown on Monday s trading session see our market story.

Winners

The iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index fund climbed 3.4% Monday after major holding Simon Property Group (SPG) announced a quarterly dividend of 60 cents a share. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Sector Index fund climbed on a push from Dow Chemical and other basic materials stocks, powered by the weak dollar.

Losers

The Market Vectors Gold Miners fund dipped 1.5% as gold prices back off the $1,010 an ounce level reached last week. The iShares Silver Trust fund also dipped on metals declines, with shares receding 1.1%.

Monday s Industry Headlines

Data Point
The United States Natural Gas fund said Friday it would resume issuing shares of the fund effective Sept. 28 following permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new shares should alleviate some of the price distortions that kept shares from correlating closely with actual natural gas prices and increased volatility. Alameda, Calif.-based USCF, which runs a family of commodity funds, sought permission to issue new shares in June. The fund charges an annual expense ratio of 0.97%.

Van Eck Global plans to launch a Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners exchange-traded fund that will invest in small to midcap gold and silver miners in the U.S. and abroad. Its latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing specified that it will invest at least 80% of the fun in companies on its Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners Index, market capitalization of anywhere from $190 million to $1.25 billion, with an average capitalization of $560 million. It did not list a ticker or a scheduled launch date.

Tuesday s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls
Adobe Systems, Best Buy, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Kroger

Economic Data
7:45 a.m. ICSC-Goldman Store Sales
8:30 a.m. Producer Price Index
8:30 a.m. Retail Sales
8:30 a.m. Empire State Manufacturing Survey
8:55 a.m. Redbook
10:00 a.m. Business Inventories