“Stocks remained lower in early afternoon trading Monday after New York-area manufacturing activity contracted to its lowest level in almost 3-1/2 years and unrest in the Middle East continued,” Scott Stoddard reports for Investor’s Business Daily.

“The Nasdaq slipped 0.4%, the S&P 500 0.2% and the Dow Jones industrial average 0.3%,” Stoddard reports. “Volume tracked 33% lower on the Nasdaq and was off 37% on the NYSE, compared with the same time Friday.”

Stoddard reports, “On the upside, Apple (AAPL) edged up 1%, flirting with the 700 mark, after the company last week unveiled the iPhone 5. The stock is well past a 619.97 buy point in a cup-with-handle base.”

Read more in the full article here.