With little in the way of economic reports or earnings to help drive shares higher, investors are taking a breather after major indexes rose the past few weeks.
Stocks have surged over the last year. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 61.2 percent during that stretch.
But traders' expectations about an economic recovery have also grown. That means it will take more than just an occasional upbeat economic report or earnings release to send stocks up.
Stocks are also seen as more fairly priced now, so it will take exceeding higher expectations for growth and economic recovery to help sustain a rally.
Overseas, Asian stocks were little changed, while European shares fell. A few disappointing earnings reports and renewed concerns about how banks will perform once stimulus measures are removed helped push major indexes in Europe lower.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.03, or 0.1 percent, to 10,563.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.22, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,138.28, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.85, or 0.1 percent, to 2,335.06.
Bond prices rose, pushing yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.70 percent from 3.72 percent late Monday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold fell.
Crude oil fell 83 cents to $81.04 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In corporate news, Merck & Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA said they are combining their animal health businesses. The joint business will control about 29 percent of the $19 billion market for pet and livestock medicines.
Major indexes were narrowly mixed on Monday. The Dow dipped 14 points. The uneven trading came as investors saw no big reasons to move the market in either direction. It also came one trading day after the Labor Department said the employers cut fewer jobs in February than expected, which helped the market rally.
While the report was better than expected, investors are likely to stay cautious until they see actual job growth.
High unemployment remains a major stumbling block to a sustained economic recovery.
Four stocks fell for every three that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 118.6 million shares, compared with 146.2 million traded at the same point Monday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.03, or less than 0.1 percent, to 667.08.
