YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Thanks to a late push, the S&P 500 and the Dow were able to finish in higher ground after falling to their lowest levels since May and spending most of the session trading with losses.

Stocks started the session lower as sellers moved to extend last week's losses. The selling effort seemed to be supported by weakness in overseas markets. The major indices tried to retrace the early decline with help from a mildly better-than-expected ISM Services Index reading for June, but sellers redoubled their efforts and sent stocks to their lowest levels in more than one month. Nonetheless, the June ISM Service Index came in at 47.0, up from 44.0 the month before. The Index has improved three straight times, but activity in the sector continues to contract since the Index remains below 50.

Leadership from defensive-oriented stocks helped the stock market gradually pare its losses throughout the afternoon. In the end, health care edged up 0.8%, utilities finished up by 1.0%, and consumer staples spiked 1.5%.

Telecom tacked on 0.7% in the face of reports that the Department of Justice has begun a review to determine whether telecom giants like AT&T (T 24.80, +0.21) and Verizon (VZ 30.36, +0.18) abused their market power in recent years. AT&T stated it is unaware of any probe, according to CNBC.

Financial stocks were able to make a strong, late run. The sector finished 0.8% higher after being down more than 1%.

Meanwhile, basic materials and energy stocks spent the entire session showing considerable weakness. Materials stocks finished 0.7% lower as steel stocks (-3.4%) and diversified metals and miners (-7.7%) fell. Shares of Alcoa (AA 9.26, -0.60) dropped to its lowest level in more than one month. Alcoa is scheduled to report its latest quarterly results after Wednesday's closing bell. The announcement marks the unofficial beginning of the second quarter earnings reporting season.

Materials stocks faltered as commodities prices came down, which caused the CRB Commodity Index to fall 2.3% in its worst single-session percentage decline in two weeks. Commodity prices were pressured in early trading as reports that the U.S. dollar's status as the primary global reserve currency remains intact helped bolster the greenback. The dollar reversed course throughout the session, though, and the Dollar Index finished 0.1% lower.

Though the dollar flopped, crude oil prices were unable to pare losses and logged their fifth straight decline instead. Crude oil prices finished pit trading 4.0% lower at $64.05 per barrel. The energy sector finished 1.2% lower, worse than any other sector.

Tech was the only other major sector to finish lower. Due to weakness in large-cap tech, the sector shed 0.4%. Weakness in large-cap tech shares caused the Nasdaq to underperform the other headline indices for the entire session.

Trading volume remains low, though not as low as last Thursday when the lightest trading volume of the year was set. Only 1.1 billion shares traded hands on the NYSE this session.

Meanwhile, the Volatility Index jumped 3.8%. It was up 6% late in the session and had been just a couple of points shy of its 50-day moving average.DJ30 +44.13 NASDAQ -9.12 NQ100 -0.4% R2K -0.6% SP400 -0.5% SP500 +2.30 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 967/2.00 bln/1656 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1233/1.14 bln/1774