Stocks shook off an early loss on Monday to notch their fourth consecutive gain in a row. Investors had their eye on the latest string of deal news, as well as a new report showing US home sales slumped last month, the AP reports. Telecommunications and health care stocks were among the biggest risers. Among the details:
- The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 21.57 points, or 0.1%, to 17,623.87.
- The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.02 points, or 0.1%, to 2,051.60.
- The Nasdaq composite index added 13.23 points, or 0.3%, to 4,808.87.
For the year, the Dow is up 198.84 points, or 1.1%; the S&P 500 is up 7.66 points, or 0.4%; the Nasdaq is down 198.54 points, or 4%. (More stocks stories.)