US markets close higher Monday

U.S. markets closed higher Monday, but the Dow Jones industrial average added just 1.81 points or 0.01 percent on the day. The Dow closed at 15,545.55, shy of a record high, as the index lost nearly 5 points Friday. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 notched a gain of 3.44 points or 0.2 percent to 1,695.53. The Nasdaq composite index added 12.77 points or 0.36 percent to close at 3,600.39. On the New York Stock Exchange 1,729 issues advanced while 1,310 declined on volume of 2.7 billion shares. Investors held back after the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales dipped slightly in June. The 10-year treasury note was yielding 2.489 percent. Japan\'s Nikkei index added 0.47 percent or 68.13 points to 14,658.04. Hong Kong\'s Hang Seng index gained 54.08 points or 0.25 percent to close at 21,416.50. London\'s FTSE 100 lost 7.5 points or 0.11 percent to close at 6,623.17. Germany\'s DAX lost 0.51 points or 0.01 percent to close at 8,331.06 and the French CAC 40 added 14.60 or 0.37 percent to close at 3,939.92. In after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil was off 87 cents at $107 a barrel. Gold gained $42.20 to close at $1,336.20 per troy ounce on the NYMEX Comex division while silver gained $1.05 to close at $20.51. On currency markets, the euro was lower at $1.3187. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 99.67 yen. On the Chicago Board of Trade, December corn was off 2 3/4 to $4.98, November soybeans were up 14 to $12.88 and September wheat was off 5 1/2 to $6.59.