U.S. stocks were nearly unchanged on Monday, as record-breaking crude oil prices tempered investors' appetite for equities. High oil prices boost the cost of corporate expenses including shipping and many commodity chemicals, while also eating into consumers' discretionary spending. OPEC will probably decide this week on whether the cartel will release extra oil in an effort to ease prices, Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said on Monday as light, sweet crude futures for August delivery gained 54 cents to $60.38 on NYMEX, Reuters reported. "Typically, the four trading sessions ahead of the Fourth of July holiday are strong days for U.S. stocks," said Scott Fullman, chief strategist at Investec (US) Inc., an institutional broker dealer in New York. "However, given the rising price of crude oil, this may not be such a positive year." The Dow Jones industrial average was up 15.88 points, or 0.15 percent, at 10,313.72. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.39 points, or 0.03 percent, at 1,191.96. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 4.24 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,049.03. --More 2309 Local Time 2009 GMT
