Wall Street edges up on ECB hopes, M&A activity

US stocks edged higher on Tuesday as merger activity and expectations for rates cuts by the European Central Bank stoked bids for equities even after the benchmark S&P 500 index closed at a record on Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.15 points or 0.22%, to 16,642.42, the S&P 500 gained 5.54 points or 0.29%, to 1,906.07 and the Nasdaq Composite added 19.74 points or 0.47%, to 4,205.55.