Stocks closed virtually flat on Thursday, after two days of heavy losses. Crude oil, which hit $100 for the first time yesterday, eased off to settle at $99.05.

Monsanto (MON | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported first quarter earnings that beat estimates, and said it now expects FY08 earnings of $2.50 to $2.60 (read more).

State Street (STT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) announced it will take a net charge, after taxes, of $279 million in Q4. The charge is to establish a reserve to address legal exposure and other costs relating to active fixed-income strategies exposed to sub-prime mortgage markets (read more).

In related news, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook on State Street to "Negative" from "Stable" and downgraded the bank's individual rating (read more).

Merck (MRK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) signed a licensing agreement with Addex Pharmaceuticals to develop a schizophrenia drug (read more).

Newmont Mining (NEM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), which rose more than 7% yesterday to close at an 8-week high, added more than 3% today as gold prices continued to soar (read more).