US stocks edge higher as oil rout stays in focus

Wall Street stocks edged higher early Monday as the market sought to regain positive momentum despite another drop in oil prices.

About 40 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,269.92, up 4.71 points (0.03 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.02 (0.05 percent) to 2,013.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.18 (0.02 percent) at 4,934.64.

US oil prices fell 38 cents to $35.24 a barrel early Monday, continuing a downward spiral. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each shed about 1.4 percent on Friday as falling oil prices continued to rattle investors.

Jarden, the maker of Mr. Coffee coffeemakers, AeroBed inflatable mattresses and other consumer goods, rose 3.9 percent after it agreed to be acquired by Newell Rubbermaid, maker of Rubbermaid storage containers, Sharpie pens and Calphalon cookware, for $13.2 billion. Newell Rubbermaid fell 6.2 percent.

Dow Chemical dropped 4.3 percent on news activist Daniel Loeb called for the ouster of chief executive Andrew Liveris. Dow announced Friday a mega-merger deal with chemical giant DuPont. DuPont shed 4.4 percent.

First Solar rose 1.3 percent and Solar City 2.6 percent after nearly 200 nations reached an historic deal over the weekend to cut emissions to address climate change.

Electric-car maker Tesla Motors advanced 0.6 percent. Coal producers Consol Energy and Peabody Energy lost 6.9 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.

Mattel climbed 2.8 percent following an upgrade from BMO Capital Markets, which praised the new management team and said the toy industry "is showing some of the best strength we have seen in more than 20 years." Hasbro, another toy company, rose 1.3 percent.