YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: The advances made by U.S. equities during the first 30 minutes held through most of the day as thin volume and lack of economic data contributed to a lackluster trading day. As the session entered its final minutes, stocks came off highs and finished near the bottom of the day's range. The S&P 500 ended higher by 0.2%.

Asian markets closed considerably higher following Friday's positive U.S. nonfarm payroll report. Japan's Nikkei gained 2.0%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.7%, while shares in Shanghai advanced 1.4%.

In Europe, Spain's IBEX finished 4.4% higher after trading was halted for nearly 5 hours due to a technical issue. Other European indices posted more modest gains with France's CAC and Germany's DAX both rising by 0.8%, while UK's FTSE advanced 0.4%.

The Nasdaq outperformed other indices and ended higher by 0.7%. The above-average gains were driven by multiple companies posting double digit percent gains.

Pluristem Therapeutics (PSTI 3.80, +0.49) was 14.8% higher after reporting that the company's treatment has been able to save the life of a patient exhibiting bone marrow failure.

Online gaming developer Changyou.com (CYOU 23.00, +3.63) gained 18.7% after beating its earnings and revenue forecast.

Knight Capital Group (KCG 3.07, -0.98) has bounced off lows but ended the session down 24.2% after this morning's news indicated the company had raised $400 million through the sale of preferred, convertible stock.

With gains of 1.1%, the Materials sector was the best performer today. United States Steel (X 22.94, +1.22) was the best performer within the group and ended higher by 5.6%. In addition, Newmont Mining (NEM 46.12, +1.45) and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX 34.34, +0.84) were up 3.3% and 2.5% respectively.

Down 0.3%, utilities were the biggest laggard in the S&P 500. Within the space, Exelon (EXC 38.06, -0.41) shed 1.1% while Duke Energy (DUK 68.21, -0.39) was off by 0.6%.

The dollar index ended off by 0.1% as the performance of major currencies against the greenback has been mixed. At 78.22, the Japanese Yen was up 0.3% against the dollar. The euro has come off session highs at 1.2425 and it currently trades near 1.2395. The common currency advanced 0.1% against the U.S. dollar.

The 10-yr yield on U.S. Treasuries has declined 2 basis points, to 1.56%.

Nearly 70 companies are scheduled to release their quarterly results after today's closing bell. Some notable names include Caribou Coffee (CBOU 10.95, -0.50), Chesapeake Energy (CHK 17.68, -0.21), Plantronics (PLT 33.47, +0.27), and Leap Wireless (LEAP 5.52, +0.30).

Crude oil popped into positive territory following rumors suggesting that Syria's Assad was killed or injured in a blast. However, headlines crossed that Russian Interior Minister denied issuing the tweet. It is worth noting that a story from Reuters on Friday discussed how its Twitter feed had been hacked so we would be a cautious of odd tweets in the coming days. The energy component continued to climb higher as it also got a boost from a weaker dollar. It settled floor trade 1.0% higher at $92.30, or just below its session high of $92.38 per barrel.

Natural gas slid to a pit session low of $2.82 per MMBtu in morning action but found buying support soon after. It trended in an upward pattern for the remainder of its floor session and settled 1.0% higher at $2.91 per MMBtu. Precious metals extended Friday's gains as the weaker dollar gave them a boost.

Gold came off its pit session low of $1608.30 per ounce and traded up to a session high of $1618.40 per ounce by late morning. It pulled-back slightly in afternoon action but still managed to close 0.4% higher at $1616.00 per ounce. Silver touched a session low of $27.61 per ounce moments after pit trade opened but climbed out of negative territory in late morning action. It brushed a session high of $27.95 per ounce and settled just below that level at $27.87 per ounce with a gain of 0.3%.

In addition, almost 80 firms will report before tomorrow's open. Cablevision (CVC 15.83, +0.29), CVS Caremark (CVS 44.90, +0.15), Fossil (FOSL 69.79, +1.36), MGM Resorts (MGM 9.38, +0.12), and Office Depot (ODP 1.74, -0.04) are some stocks which bear watching. Tomorrow's economic data is limited to consumer credit, due out at 3 PM ET.DJ30 +21.34 NASDAQ +22.01 SP500 +3.24 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1522/1.49 bln/927 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1892/647.2 mln/1124