Stocks finished nearly unchanged, with the market treading water before talks to head off automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that would begin in January. During the weekend, a report had China’s export growth rising to a five-month high above 11%, and the Greek parliament approved an austerity budget for 2013, a move required to release the next round of financial aid. Tech sector traded modestly lower, with Microsoft losing 2.1% after CEO Steve Ballmer told the French daily Le Parisien that the company’s new Surface tablet was selling “modestly.” Research In Motion added 3.2% after the co. announced a “launch event” for its new BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system. Also, KLA-Tencor added 2.9% after RBC Capital upgraded the co. to outperform from underperform. Apple edged higher earlier in the session on news of a broad licensing agreement with HTC to end patent-related legal disputes. Implied volatility inched lower on light trading volumes.
