US stocks opened flat Monday as investors remained cautious about Washington's fiscal cliff negotiations and Italian political instability spurred concerns about the eurozone debt crisis.
After opening slightly in the red at the bell, stocks were flat after five minutes of trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.46 points (0.06 percent) to 13,162.59 by 1405 GMT.
The broad-market S&P 500 slipped 0.77 point (0.05 percent) to 1,417.30, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.47 (0.02 percent) to 2,977.57.
"The domestic equity markets remain under some pressure as Italian political uncertainty flared up to cause peripheral eurozone sovereign debt crisis concerns to resurface," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said.
