By Sinéad Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. equities were choppy on Monday with Nasdaq in decline ahead of a big week of technology earnings reports while oil prices rose and treasury yields edged higher as investors braced for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this week. In currencies, the dollar index was down but holding above a 2-1/2 week low reached on Friday while gold prices inched higher. Janet Yellen, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, said on Sunday that while U.S. economic growth was slowing a recession was not inevitable. Treasury yields edged slightly higher as investors awaited …