The Dow industrials briefly turned negative in late afternoon trading on Monday and the S&P 500 extended losses as bank shares continued to slide, weighed by the uncertainty surrounding a financial regulation proposal.

Caterpillar Inc , up more than 4 percent after posting results, kept the blue-chip Dow near break even.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 13.83 points, or 0.12 percent, to 11,218.11. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 4.19 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,213.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 5.13 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,525.02.

The S&P financial sector <.GSPF> slipped 1.6 percent.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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