S&P 500 rises for 7th straight day, VIX below 12

The US equity markets continued to grind higher on Monday with the Dow Jones closing at a record high for the fifth straight session.

It was a positive close for S&P 500 Index for the seventh consecutive session. CBOE Volatility Index closed below 12 for the first time since April 2007.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35 percent or 50.22 points at 14,447.29. Nasdaq Composite added 0.26 percent or 8.50 points at 3,252.87 while Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.32 percent or 5.04 points at 1,556.22.

European data tepid

Germany recorded a trade surplus of euro 13.7 billion in January.

Italy's fourth quarter GDP fell 0.9 percent from the previous quarter while Greece's GDP declined 5.7 percent QoQ.

European markets closed mixed on Monday. FTSE rose 0.3 percent while CAC and DAX closed lower.

Investors should watch out for:
-German WPI, CPI
-Italy CPI
-UK Manufacturing Production
-US NFIB Biz Optimism Index