U.S. stocks closed little changed Monday, with little in the way of corporate or economic news. In U.S. economic news, an even wider-than-expected budget deficit failed to get investors moving. In corporate news, BlackBerry shares surged after the company said it will begin exploring ‘strategic alternatives,' including selling the company. Once a dominant player in the smartphone market, BlackBerry has struggled recently against competitors like Apple and Samsung. Apple shares rose after the International Trade Commission Friday banned Samsung from importing or selling several devices that it said infringe on Apple patents. Tesla shares dropped after Lazard Capital downgraded the stock and as investors await Elon Musk's Hyperloop design announcement. The electric car maker's stock is up more than 325 percent this year. The dollar lost ground against the euro, the pound, and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for September delivery gained 14 cents to $106.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures climbed $22.00 to $1,334.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 5.83, or 0.04 percent, to 15,419.68. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1.95, or 0.12 percent, to 1,689.47. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 9.84, or 0.27 percent, to 3,669.95.
