NEW YORK: US stocks edged up in early trade Monday after last week's surge, with traders still eying the upheavals in the Middle East and the radiation leakage at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant.
At 1400 GMT the Dow Jones Industrial Average had picked up 43.82 points (0.36 percent) to 12,264.41.
The broader S&P 500 added 4.65 (0.35 percent) to 1,318.45, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 7.02 (0.26 percent) to 2,750.08.
"The US equity markets are modestly higher in early action, with a better-than-forecasted increase in personal spending helping to buoy stocks, even as the global focus remains on the euro-area debt crisis, Middle East turmoil, and the tragedy in Japan," said analysts at Charles Schwab.
The US Commerce Department reported consumer spending rose 0.7 percent from January, more than double the 0.3 percent increase in the December-January period.
But analysts said much of that was driven by higher prices for food and energy.
Eastman Kodak added 10.9 percent after a late Friday ruling favoring the company in a patent-infringement claim against Apple and Research in Motion.
The company could earn hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties if a final ruling expected in April also goes in its favor.
Kodak picked up 8.3 percent on Friday in anticipation the court would back its complaint.
Nokia added 4.2 percent and Alcatel 8.6 percent after the two companies earned upgrades from Goldman Sachs.
Bond prices were slightly down. The yield on the 10 year Treasury rose to 3.48 percent from 3.44 percent late Friday, and the 30 year note heldsteady at 4.51 percent.
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