YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Stocks spent most of the session chopping along listlessly with modest gains until a flurry of late selling led to a flat finish.

A lack of headlines left stocks with few drivers this morning, but a modest bid helped keep the major averages in positive territory. Still, conviction appeared lacking as there was little support when stocks were tested with resistance near last week's highs. Stocks were also backed down by the greenback's gains -- the dollar advanced 0.4% against competing currencies after the yen set another new 15-year high against it overnight.

Natural resource plays showed some strength in the first few minutes of trade, but that proved fleeting when the dollar was bid higher. Energy stocks settled with a 0.1% gain and materials stocks finished with a 0.2% loss.

Tech stocks had looked strong in afternoon trade. The sector was propped up by a mix of large-cap tech plays and semiconductor stocks. Broadcom (BRCM 36.38, +0.64) was a leader in the bunch after analysts at Goldman Sachs added the name to its Conviction Buy List. The overall tech sector still finished with a fractional gain, though.

Trade was quiet for most of the session. For some stretches it even became rather boring -- for more than three hours the S&P 500 was confined to a two-point range.

Despite that, the Volatility Index (VIX) dropped more than 8% to its lowest level since late April. However, that was mostly because of a mechanical shift in the options used to calculate the VIX, rather than a calming among market participants.

The VIX was virtually unmoved by some late selling that undercut the major averages and actually took the Dow back below 11,000. A very modest bid in the final minutes helped blue chips reclaim the psychologically significant mark and made for an overall flat finish.

Trading volume on the NYSE dropped to its lowest level in one month as barely 800 million shares exchanged hands this session. That is likely owed to the combination of few trading catalysts and some traders leaving their desks for Columbus Day -- The U.S. Treasury market was closed for its observance.

Strength in dollar did little of slow commodities down today, as the CRB Commodity Index finished the day higher by +0.4%. Industrials led the charge, rallying for 2.4%. The grains sector finished with a 1.8% move to the upside, with Dec corn settling higher by 5.2% to $5.56 per bushel. Friday's bullish USDA report helped corn futures extend their recent rally.

It was a quiet Monday for Nov crude oil, which settled lower by 0.5% to $82.21 per barrel. Nov natural gas closed off 0.9% to $3.61 per MMBtu, as it sold off into the close to end near its lows.

Dec gold gained 0.7% to finish at $1354.40 per ounce, while Dec silver rallied for 1% to close at $23.35 per ounce.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+0.3%), Energy (+0.2%), Tech (+0.1%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.1%), Consumer Staples (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: Industrials (-0.3%), Materials (-0.2%), Financials (-0.1%)
Unchanged: Health Care, UtilitiesDJ30 +3.63 NASDAQ +0.42 SP500 +0.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1233/1.55 bln/1416 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1638/824 mln/1317