NEW YORK -- Stocks got a little help from an international hotel deal and dueling superheroes Monday, but there was little movement in a quiet day of trading.
Hotel chains Starwood and Marriott climbed after a Chinese insurance company made another offer to buy Starwood. Media giant Time Warner rose after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had a super opening weekend.
Stocks flipped between small gains and losses for most of the day. Oil prices slipped and energy companies took modest losses. Mining and metals companies traded slightly higher.
Monday was the slowest trading day of 2016 for U.S. markets, and European exchanges were closed for the Easter holiday. Trading was closed in the U.S. Friday for the Good Friday holiday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.66 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,535.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 1.11 points to 2,037.05, ending a three-day losing streak.
The Nasdaq composite index lost 6.72 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,766.79. Stocks have flagged over the last few days after a five-week rally.
The bidding for the Starwood chain may have reached an end as a group of investors led by China's Anbang Insurance Group offered to buy the company for about $14 billion. Marriott agreed to buy Starwood for $12.2 billion last year and recently raised that offer. Starwood shares added $1.62, or 2 percent, to $83.75. It's up 19 percent in the last two weeks.
Marriott rose $2.70, or 3.9 percent, to $71.34. JMP Securities analyst Whitney Stevenson said investors expect Marriott to give up on its pursuit of Starwood.
"They were probably at the limit of what they wanted to pay," she said. "Marriott stock is up today because the market is assuming they do not overpay and collect the $470-ish million they get from the breakup fee and walk away from this thing."
Time Warner climbed after its new Batman and Superman movie had one of the best opening weekends ever despite negative reviews and some skepticism from fans. It grossed about $424 million worldwide, including $170 million in the U.S. That was a good sign for Time Warner's planned series of movies based on DC Comics characters.
Time Warner shares rose $2.53, or 3.6 percent, to $72.54.
Those and other consumer stocks rose after the government said Friday that the U.S. economy grew at a faster pace in the fourth quarter. And on Monday, the Commerce Department said consumer spending continued to grow in February, although for the third straight month, it rose by only a small amount.
Consumers have saved a lot of money as gasoline and heating prices have plunged, said Michael Scanlon, managing director and portfolio manager for John Hancock Asset Management. But he said people aren't sure that prices will stay low, so they haven't picked up their spending. That has surprised experts.
"The fact that spending is growing in line with wages is showing how much more responsible the U.S. consumer is today," he said. But Scanlon thinks consumers will start spending more soon.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell seven cents to $39.39 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 17 cents to $40.27 a barrel in London.
Business on 03/29/2016