NEW YORK — U.S stocks inched mostly higher in light trading Monday as investors shrugged off falling energy prices, a plunging Russian ruble and fears that Greece could renege on its bailout.
Stocks wavered throughout the day, with the Dow Jones industrial average moving between gains and losses several times. In the end the blue-chip index closed down slightly, but other major indexes recorded tiny gains.
“Most of the bad news came from overseas … and that makes the U.S. market more attractive,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank. “Investors are shifting money from overseas.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.80 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,090.57. The Dow fell 15.48 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,038.23. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.05 points to 4,806.91
With little economic or company developments in the U.S., investors focused on news that Greece will have to call snap elections next month that could bring more economic turmoil to the country. The opposition Syriza party, which opposes terms of the international bailout of the country, is leading in the polls.
The Athens exchange closed with a loss of 4 percent after falling as much as 11 percent earlier. Several European markets also slumped, with Italy’s benchmark index losing 1.1 percent.
In Russia, the ruble fell 8 percent against the U.S. dollar after a rally last week. Russian monetary officials have made stabilizing the currency a priority amid slumping oil revenues and unease about the country’s economic outlook.
Despite the troubles abroad developing for several weeks now, U.S. stocks have been rising on optimism over the U.S. economy.
On Monday, six of 10 industry sectors in the S&P 500 rose, led by a 1.1 percent gain in utilities. Trading was light ahead of the New Year’s holiday. Volume was about two-thirds of the recent average on the New York Stock Exchange.
