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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -
Stocks were mixed Monday, with technology the most upbeat sector, as investors kept an eye on rising oil prices and Treasury bond yields, and geared up for Tuesday's Fed meeting.
As of 5:30 p.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures pointed to a flat open Tuesday when fair value is taken into account.
The Dow Jones industrial average (down 10.81 to 10,767.77, Charts) lost 0.1 percent Monday.
The S&P 500 (up 1.06 to 1,260.43, Charts) index ended just above unchanged and the Nasdaq composite (up 4.22 to 2,260.95, Charts) added 0.2 percent.
Treasury prices slipped, boosting the corresponding yields. The dollar fell versus other major gauges.
Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent and gold edged higher too.
Tuesday's trade will be all about the Fed, with a decision on interest rates expected at around 2:15 p.m. ET.
Policy makers meeting Tuesday are widely expected to boost the Fed funds rate, an overnight bank lending rate, by a quarter percentage point to 4.25 percent. It would the 13th consecutive rate hike since June 2004.
Of greater interest, as usual, will be what the bankers say in the statement regarding future rate hikes.
Market participants seem to be hoping that the statement implies the 18-month rate hiking campaign is near an end, said Timothy Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management.
Should that message not come through, stocks may slip.
"There is the potential for disappointment," Ghriskey said.
A read on November retail sales is also due Tuesday.
All three major gauges had risen modestly through the morning Monday as investors welcomed news of a potential $30 billion merger in the oil industry and Viacom's purchase of DreamWorks.
But the tone turned more negative in the afternoon, with investors focusing on oil prices, the corporate news, and the Federal Reserve meeting tomorrow. Giving the Nasdaq momentum was a rally in the influential chip sector.
U.S. light crude oil for January delivery jumped $1.91 to settle at $61.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
While that gave a lift to some oil service stocks, it also served to add an element of unease to the market sentiment, as did concerns about Tuesday's Fed meeting.
A $30 billion oil deal?
ConocoPhilips is reportedly in late-stage talks to buy Burlington Resources for about $30 billion, according to a report published in the Wall Street Journal. The news sent shares of Burlington (up $6.41 to $82.50, Research) surging and Conoco (down $1.82 to $61.25, Research) shares lower.
Separately, Viacom (up $0.29 to $34.71, Research)'s Paramount Pictures confirmed over the weekend that it was buying privately held DreamWorks SKG for $1.6 billion in a cash and assumption of debt deal.
Viacom shares inched up less than 1 percent.
Among other movers, Merck (down $0.72 to $28.41, Research) fell 2.5 percent after the first federal suit over its withdrawn pain treatment Vioxx ended in a mistrial.
It was the Dow's biggest loser. Other Dow decliners included IBM and Microsoft.
The Dow's financial components, including Citigroup (down $0.23 to $48.68, Research), declined as well. A number of financial stocks slipped, pressuring the Philadelphia Bank Sector (down 0.48 to 103.64, Charts) index.
On the upside, Intel (up $0.54 to $26.62, Research) gained more than 2 percent, bouncing back a bit after its recent declines. Last week, the chip leader forecast current-quarter revenue growth that is below the midpoint of analysts' forecasts.
A variety of chip stocks gained, lifting the Philadelphia Semiconductor (up 2.99 to 500.20, Charts) index, or the SOX.
Valero Energy (up $2.99 to $108.45, Research) was among the oil stocks rising along with the price of the commodity. The Amex Oil (up 10.76 to 1,017.75, Charts) index gained over 1 percent.
Among other movers, Google (up $3.41 to $412.61, Research) shares gained after brokerage Credit Suisse First Boston lifted its price target on the Internet behemoth to $475 from $400, citing increased momentum.
SanDisk (up $1.89 to $51.12, Research) gained 3.8 percent after the U.S. Supreme Court threw out an appeal by digital media manufacturers that are objecting to a patent infringement suit it filed. SanDisk makes flash memory cards used in digital cameras, PDAs and other products.
Shares of Myogen (up $7.80 to $27.07, Research) jumped 40.5 percent in unusually active Nasdaq trade after reporting that its experimental treatment for hypertension showed strong results in a late-stage trial.
Encysive Pharmaceuticals (down $3.69 to $7.49, Research), which is developing a competitive drug, slumped 33 percent, also in unusually active Nasdaq trade.
Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners edged losers on volume of almost 1.41 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers barely beat decliners on volume of 1.67 billion shares.
Treasury prices eased, with the yield on the 10-year note rising to 4.55 percent from 4.52 percent late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The dollar fell versus the euro and yen.
COMEX gold for February delivery rose $1.30 to settle at $531.50 an ounce.
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