Stocks ended Monday’s session mostly unchanged as investors waited for first-quarter company earnings to start rolling in. Earnings reporting got underway with Alcoa. After the closing bell, it posted adjusted earnings of 7 cents a share, beating the loss of 2 cents per share that analysts expected. Later this week, banks will start reporting results. Expectations are low for this earnings season: Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect a decline of 9.1 percent overall from a year earlier, largely tied to the steep drop in the price of oil. If energy is excluded from the S&P 500, earnings in the index would be down 4.2 percent. Since many analysts believe the price of oil has found a bottom, there is hope that earnings later this year will make up for the first quarter. Investors were encouraged by data from China showing tame inflation there. That could give officials a reason to offer more stimulus to keep the economy from slowing further. In company news, Hertz Global fell 11 percent after cutting its full-year forecast, saying the car rental industry is suffering from too much competition. Yahoo rose 1 percent on reports the Daily Mail may buy the company.