YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Stocks overcame some afternoon selling to settle in positive ground with varied gains. That helped secure the sixth straight monthly gain for both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, and the third straight monthly gain for the Dow.

Trade started on a strong note with buyers encouraged by solid gains among most major markets abroad, although disappointing earnings from global banking giant HSBC (HBC 55.09, -2.18) hampered Britain's FTSE. The positive tone to early trade was also helped by a pullback in oil prices following word that Saudi Arabia will make up for any supply disruption that stems from the tenuous circumstances in Libya. April crude oil ended lower by 0.9% to $96.97 per barrel.

Amid the action in oil prices, energy stocks faltered after a strong start, but recovered to settle with a 0.6% gain that is on par with what the broader market ultimately scored. Weakness in semiconductor stocks (-1.1%) weighed on the Nasdaq, which lagged its counterparts for virtually the entire session after it had outperformed late last week.

Amazon.com (AMZN 173.29, -3.95) exacerbated the Nasdaq's problems as participants dropped the stock to a three-week low following news that analysts at UBS downgraded shares of AMZN. Apple (AAPL 353.21, +5.05) offered support as it advanced to its fourth straight gain following three consecutive losses.

Although the Nasdaq had a rather underwhelming performance this session, it locked in a 3.5% gain February. The S&P 500 scored a 4.0% monthly gain while the Dow advanced 3.4% for the month.

Fanfare for the latest dose of data was minimal, despite few blemishes.

January personal income increased by 1.0%, which is stronger than the 0.3% increase that had been expected, on average, among economists polled by Briefing.com. However, January personal spending increased just 0.2%, which is less than the widely anticipated increase of 0.4%. Core personal consumption expenditures for January increased just 0.1% month over month, but that had been broadly expected.

The Chicago PMI for February climbed to a 20-year high of 71.2. It had only ben expected to come in at 67.5 after a 68.8 reading in January.

Pending home sales for January fell 2.8% month over month, but that is still better than the 3.2% decline that had been expected, on average, among economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The January decline is also softer than the 3.2% slide reported for the prior month.

The CRB Commodity Index finished with a modestly positive bias today, led by a 2% gain in industrials. May cotton finished the session limit up, higher by 3.8%, to $1.91 per pound. Concerns about supply helped the industrial trade higher today.

April crude oil ended lower by 0.9% to $96.97 per barrel. It spent most of the session chopping around the flat line only to pull back toward lows heading into the close. Reports that Saudi Arabia as covering any supply disruption from Libya helped calm a jittery market, for the time being. April natural gas finished higher by 0.9% to $4.04 per MMBtu.

Weakness in the dollar helped push precious metals higher earlier today. March silver rallied for 2.5% to close at $33.80 per ounce. April gold finished near flat at $1409.90 per ounce after it sold off heading into the close of pit trade.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+1.5%), Utilities (+1.0%), Materials (+1.0%), Health Care (+0.9%), Energy (+0.6%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.6%), Industrials (+0.6%), Financials (+0.5%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), Tech (+0.2%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +95.89 NASDAQ +1.22 NQ100 +0.2% R2K +0.2% SP400 +0.3% SP500 +7.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1328/2.03 bln/1336 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2040/1.25 bln/966