S&P 500 at record; Dow snaps winning streak

New York - The S&P 500 edged up to a fresh record, while the Dow ended a seven-day winning streak as equity markets largely shrugged off new political instability in Greece.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.80 points to 2 090.57, marking its second record close in a row.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 15.48 points to 18 038.23, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was essentially flat, gaining a scant 0.05 point at 4 806.91.

Stock markets in Britain, France and Germany rallied into positive territory after initially falling on news that Greece was headed for snap polls after the parliament failed to elect a leader for the third time, raising uncertainty about the country's economic reforms under an international rescue program.

"We saw some potential negatives for markets coming from Greece, but it seems mostly isolated to Greece and Europe specifically," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.

"There is little news coming to the market in a thinly traded market."

General Motors jumped 2.6% after Cars.com forecast the US auto giant's sales jumped 10% in December compared with a year ago, part of a strong industry-wide showing due in part to low gasoline prices.

Ford Motor gained 0.5%. Cars.com projected Ford's sales rose 3.8%.

Manitowoc, which operates cranes and food service equipment businesses, jumped 8.9% after activist Carl Icahn took about an 8% stake in the company and said he would push to break it in two.

Biotech company Gilead Sciences gained 3.7% as it announced an agreement with Janssen to develop and commercialise a new regimen for HIV treatment. Gilead will initiate clinical studies in the European Union in the coming months.

Walgreens advanced 0.4% after shareholders approved its $16bn takeover of European rival Alliance Boots to create a global leader in the drugstore business.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.21% from 2.25% on Friday, while the 30-year dropped to 2.78% from 2.81%. Bond yields and prices move inversely.