Just before the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 10.77 points, closing at 6,843.87, its third straight record close and ninth in 11 sessions. The high-flying blue-chip barometer, which traded in a narrow range through the day, is only about 155 points shy of the 7,000-mark less than four months after its first move above 6,000.
Broader measures also set some new highs after early weakness.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index climbed 0.53 to a record close of 776.70, and the NYSE's composite index was unchanged at 409.31.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 15.27 to a record close of 1,364.31, and the American Stock Exchange index fell 1.01 to 588.94.
NYSE volume totaled 440.38 million shares, vs. 532.44 million Friday. Advancing issues barely led decliners on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,282 up, 1,268 down and 786 unchanged.
With no direction coming from the bond market, which was closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the session was relatively uneventful.
The technology-rich Nasdaq market drew a boost from Microsoft, which benefited from an increased earnings estimate from Goldman Sachs in the aftermath of late Friday's stronger-than-expected earnings report.
The NYSE's most active issue was credit-card issuer First USA, which surged on news of an agreement to be acquired by Banc One for stock initially valued at $7.3 billion. Banc One's shares fell as the NYSE's second most active issue.