U.S. stocks finished little changed Monday as investors measured a positive housing report against the European debt crisis and rising gas prices. Stocks began the day in the red following global finance ministers' remarks over the weekend that called on European Union leaders to secure their financial firewall before other countries back more money from the International Monetary Fund. The German Parliament approved the country's second bailout for Greece, and Finland and the Netherlands are expected to back the bailout later in the week. In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported that its index of pending home sales rose to the highest level in January since April 2010. The index rose 2 percent last month to 97. The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and the pound, but fell against the yen. Light sweet crude oil fell $1.13 to $108.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $1.50 to $1,774.90 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.44, or 0.01 percent, to 12,981.51. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index increased 1.85, or 0.14 percent, to 1,367.59. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.41, or 0.08 percent, to 2,966.16.
