DOW - Really tough resistance to overcome!

12,708.82  -11.66  -0.09%

By: JeeYeon Park

CNBC.com Writer

Stocks ended flat in quiet trading Monday as investors continued to monitor developments in the Greek debt negotiations and ahead of the Fed's two-day FOMC meeting this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 11.66 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 12,708.82


The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, closed above 18.


“Today’s move is markets getting ready for the rest of the trading week—The Fed is having its two-day meeting and will release more details on how bank presidents voted for the first time…The market’s lost stream because the recent numbers are implying that the Fed won’t introduce QE anytime soon,” said Brian Battle, vice president of trading at Perofrmance Trust Capital Partners.


In addition, Battle noted that the situation in Greece is pointing to a default for the debt-ridden nation in the near-term.

“It’s just a matter of how they will default—will it be orderly or will it be an uncontrolled event? No matter what happens, there’s going to be a shock to the system when it happens,” explained Battle.

Finance ministers and officials in Europe were still discussing terms of a Greek debt restructuring as part of a second bailout package for Athens, as well as other issues in the euro zone debt crisis, in an aim to avoid a chaotic default that could put the whole currency bloc in danger.

Also on the agenda for the meeting will be the European permanent bailout fund and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Meanwhile, France and Germany are expected to call for a relaxation of global bank capital rules to prevent lending to the real economy being choked off, the Financial Times reported.