U.S. stocks eked out tiny gains on Monday after spending much of the day drifting sideways.
Major stock indexes barely budged early as investors took in stride the election of a Greek political party that has called for the elimination of some that nation's rescue loans. Market players also weighed the latest batch of corporate earnings
Traders welcomed news of several corporate mergers, including an $11 billion deal between reinsurers Axis Capital Holdings and PartnerRe.
The market also brushed off concerns of a major blizzard set to descend over the Northeast U.S. The stock exchanges were expected to open for business as usual on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial added 6.10 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,678.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 5.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,057.09. The Nasdaq composite rose 13.88 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,771.76.