YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Market participants were initially uninspired by mixed results from Alcoa, but interest in tech plays ahead of Intel's latest report helped the broader market muster a fractional gain. A slight dip by the dollar helped, too.

First quarter results from Dow component Alcoa (AA 14.34, -0.23) unofficially marked the start earnings season last evening. Alcoa posted adjusted earnings of $0.10 per share, which was in-line with the consensus estimate, but earnings quality was questioned due to smaller-than-expected revenue.

Fellow Dow component JPMorgan Chase (JPM 45.87, -0.27) is scheduled to report its latest quarterly results tomorrow morning, ahead of the opening bell. The stock closed at a session low, however.

Regional bank stocks were especially weak. The group fell 2.0% following the decision by analysts at UBS to downgrade KeyCorp (KEY 8.14, -0.20), Huntington Banc (HBAN 5.69, -0.34), and Regions Financial (RF 8.34, -0.40).

Meanwhile, analysts at Credit Suisse won favor for educational services plays with an upgrade of DeVry (DV 71.73, +6.67) and ITT Educational (ESI 119.20, +10.42). Shares of the pair set fresh 52-week highs.

Participants chased Intel (INTC 22.76, +0.22) to a fresh 52-week high ahead of its post-close earnings announcement. Shares of the semiconductor giant helped give the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index a 0.6% gain and helped the Nasdaq Composite find a fractionally improved 52-week high.

The broader S&P 500 had its gains capped as it continues to encounter resistance at 1200. Still, the benchmark index was able to rebound from a midmorning loss that briefly took it below near-term support at 1190. That slide came as the Dollar Index turned a modest loss into a slight gain, but stocks recovered as the buck's bounce proved unsustainable.

The CRB Commodity Index closed with a 0.4% gain, thanks partly to a sharp bounce in natural gas prices. Contract prices for the energy component climbed 3.5% to $4.15 per MMBtu.

Oil prices pared losses to settle at $84.01 per barrel, down 0.4%. Oil prices had been down some 2% at their session low.

Precious metals fell in tandem as gold prices closed pit trade 0.8% lower at $1152.80 per ounce and silver prices settled 0.9% lower at $18.25  per ounce.

In other commodity-related news, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) advanced 0.6% in its latest session. That gain marked only the second time in 19 sessions that the BDI staged an advance.

Volatility ramped up this session. Specifically, the Volatility Index spiked nearly 8% before it finished the session 3.5% higher. The rebound followed a 30-month low in the prior session.

Treasuries had a quiet, but relatively solid session as the benchmark 10-year Note continued its gradual climb. The yield on the Note now stands slightly above 3.80% after it had been just above 4.00% last week.

Advancing Sectors: Consumer Discretionary (+0.6%), Tech (+0.3%), Industrials (+0.3%)
Declining Sectors: Energy (-0.5%), Utilities (-0.4%), Materials (-0.3%), Telecom (-0.2%)
Unchanged: Health Care, Financials, Consumer Staples DJ30 +13.45 NASDAQ +8.12 NQ100 +0.4% R2K +0.3% SP400 +0.4% SP500 +0.82 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1375/2.53 bln/1295 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1549/1.05 bln/1481