S&P edges up to record as $8.2B Sysco deal fuels markets

The stock market notched another record close Monday after a big acquisition in the food industry. Hope for a longer-term budget deal in Washington also helped.

Food distributor Sysco rose the most in the Standard & Poor's 500 index after the company announced an agreement to buy rival US Foods in an $8.2 billion deal. Sysco's stock jumped $3.31, or 9.7 percent, to $37.62.

The S&P 500 index climbed 0.18 percent to 1,808.37. That put the index about a point above its previous record close of 1,807.23 set Nov. 27.

Other indexes also made small gains. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 5.33 points to 16,025.53. The Nasdaq composite increased 0.15 percent to close at 4,068.75.

Stocks were also supported by reports that U.S. lawmakers were moving closer to reaching a longer-term budget deal, said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management Group.

Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said Sunday on ABC that budget negotiations are making progress and moving in the right direction.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.85 percent from 2.86 percent Friday. -- AP