An early bounce in stocks eased on Monday, with the Nasdaq turning negative after Mattel Inc (MAT.O) reported a fall in profit and shares in Google Inc (GOOG.O) dropped ahead of a high stakes legal battle with Oracle.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 95.89 points, or 0.75 percent, to 12,945.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 2.71 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,372.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXICdropped 15.22 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,996.11.