Roller-Coaster Day Ends on a Flat Note

Wall Street embarked on a wild ride Monday, after stocks opened sharply lower and traders braced for what's predicted to be another weak earnings season. An afternoon rebound faded near the end of the session, then perked up again after 3 p.m. for a low-volume, seesaw day. Yet despite the early morning plunge, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 44 points higher at 8325. The Nasdaq dropped 9 points to close at 1787, and the S&P 500 gained 2 to close at 899.

Crude dipped below $64 a barrel amid concerns that the global recession won’t end anytime soon. And energy prices across the board declined, with natural gas ebbing 10 cents to $3.51 per cubic foot. Smaller exploration and production companies such as Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and Devon Energy (DVN) also took hits.

for the full rundown of Monday’s trading session see our market story.

A positive preannouncement from electronics giant Samsung boosted the iShares MSCI South Korea Index (EWY) fund by 3.6%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR fund (XLP) held out against the broader slide and rose 1.9% after a strong showing from major holding Colgate Palmolive (CP).

The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining fund (XME) took a 5.3% hit as energy and mining names like Massey Energy (MEE) and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) took big hits. The Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX) slipped 5.3% as gold closed below $923.

Launching Pad
It used to be independent, and now it may get its own exchange-traded fund. Oklahoma City-based TXF Funds Inc. filed a request with the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow it to launch an ETF focused on the largest public companies in Texas. The TXF Large Companies ETF would track the SPADE Texas Large Companies Index. The fund would carry annual expenses of 0.85%. Another SPADE index for Oklahoma would be a tracking benchmark for a proposed Oklahoma ETF, with a tentative ticker of OOK. That fund is still in the planning stage.

Earnings and Conference Calls
A. Schulman, Aeon, Greenbrier, International Speedway, Ruby Tuesday

Economic Data
7:45 a.m. ICSC Chain Store Sales Index for July 4
8:55 a.m. Redbook Retail Sales Index for July 4
5:00 p.m. ABC/Wash Post Consumer Conf for July 4

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Monday: