U.S. blue-chip stocks and bonds were down slightly on Monday, while the dollar weakened, sending gold higher. The technology-dominated Nasdaq index inched higher, led by Intel Corp., which was set to release a new chip for broadband wireless and expected to report earnings on Tuesday. U.S. oil prices fell, helped by bearish sentiment on the back of swelling U.S. stockpiles. Crude for May delivery CLK5 on the New York Mercantile Exchange slid 12 cents to settle at $50.37. London's June Brent crude LCOM5 was down 83 cents at $50.78 a barrel. In the Dow, a 6 percent tumble in bellwether 3M Co. was offset by gains in bank stocks, such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which rose after a broker upgrade. 3M, a Dow component and benchmark for the U.S. economy, which makes items such as Scotch tape and Post-It notes, fell $4.87 to $75.99 after posting disappointing revenues. Gains in banking stocks also helped the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX to rise, while the Nasdaq was boosted by Intel Corp., up 0.7 percent to $22.28 after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock. --More 2321 Local Time 2021 GMT
