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 of 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.
“Greece was the big driver,” said Chris Gaffney, a senior market strategist at EverBank Wealth Management. “The EU leaders have already come out and are willing to talk about extending the debt, so that calmed the markets a bit.”
The market also brushed off concerns of a major blizzard. The stock exchanges were expected to open for business 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.
Monday’s market action got off to a listless start, as the major market indexes were mostly unchanged from Friday’s close.
Investors were still digesting Sunday’s election victory by Greece’s Syriza party, which has vowed to end painful austerity policies. That’s raised concerns about whether Greece will break free from the eurozone.
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