Stock Market, S&p 500 | featured news

Top investors stumble, but a strong fourth quarter pushes blue chips into the black. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 ends the year almost exactly where it started.

McGraw-Hill is in advanced talks with CME Group to combine stock-market icons such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 into a joint venture.

Stocks are edging higher following a four-week losing streak. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,844 in midday trading Monday. It had been up as many as 203 points. The Dow fell 4 percent last week as worries deepened that the U.S. could slip into a recession. The S&P 500 rose less than a point to 1,124. The Nasdaq was up less than a point at 2,342.

Without a boost from Washington or data showing budding strength in the economy, Wall Street's rally may be running out of fuel as the S&P 500 eases off its 2010 high.

NYSE recommended that regulators seek out a broad-based stock index like the S&P 500 to underlie a new circuit breaker that would halt all U.S. stock trading if conditions become too volatile.