Stock rally flags, precious metals shine

Click the chart for more market data. By CNNMoney staffApril 25, 2011: 10:32 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks fell Monday as investors found record gold and near-record silver prices more alluring.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 30 points, or 0.2%, less than one hour into the session. The S&P 500 (SPX) slipped 2 point, or 0.2%. But the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) added less than 1 point.

Du Pont (DI) was the weakest performer on the Dow, while Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) and Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) were also weak. Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), however, were higher.

Commodity prices continued to rally, with gold prices flying further into record territory and silver prices nearing $50 an ounce. Oil held above $113 a barrel.

After strong earnings propelled the Dow to a near 3-year high in the prior week, investors were looking to extend the rally Monday. The last week in April brings earnings reports from nine Dow components and 180 members of the S&P 500, including Netflix (NFLX) after Monday’s close.

“There still seems to be pretty good momentum behind some of the earnings announcements we’ve seen so far,” said Jeff Coons, president of Manning & Napier Advisors.

The market was closed Friday in observance of Good Friday.

Currencies and commodities: Gold futures for June delivery rose $9.50 to $1,513.30 an ounce, after setting a new intraday trading high of $1,518.60 earlier Monday.

Silver futures for May delivery were up $2.17 to $48.22 an ounce. Earlier, prices rose to $49.82, near an all-time high.

Oil for June delivery gained 70 cents to $112.90 a barrel.

The dollar fell against the euro and the the British pound, but rose against the Japanese yen.

Economy: Sales of new homes rose more than expected in March, although the weak housing market remains a concern for many investors.

March new home sales came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000, up 11% from the the revised February rate of 270,000, the Census Bureau said.

Economists were expecting a sales rate of 280,000, according to consensus estimates gathered by Briefing.com.

“Home sales are critical, and even though we may see some marginal improvement, they’re still down considerably from where they were before the downturn,” said Andy Hugos, financial consultant with LPL Financial.

Companies: Netflix (NFLX) will announce first-quarter results after the closing bell. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the online movie rental company’s profit to surge almost 80%, as sales climb 43% from a year earlier.

World markets: Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite fell 1.5% and Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.1%.

Stock markets in Britain, Germany, France and Hong Kong were all closed for Easter Monday.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 3.39% from 3.4% late Thursday. The bond market closed early Thursday and remained closed in observance of Good Friday. 

First Published: April 25, 2011: 9:42 AM ET