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New York - US stock markets hovered above the breakeven line in early trade on Monday, as traders awaited a raft of key economic data later in the week.
"US stocks are pointing modestly higher in early action as the bulls are looking for a rebound from last week's decline," said analysts at Charles Schwab.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 29.63 points to 11 900.94 at 15:00 GMT, while the broad-market S&P 500 index rose 0.72 points to 1 284.07.
Meanwhile the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 2.12 points at 2 691.66.
First up on this week's docket will be a meeting of the Federal Reserve's interest rate-setting panel, which meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.
While the committee is not expected to raise interest rates from current ultra-low levels, it could raise growth forecasts for this year toward the upper end of a 3% to 4% band.
President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday and the final tranche of 2010 gross domestic product figures on Friday could also steer the market.
Discount retailer Target was among the early losers, its shares falling 0.7%, as competitors Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree and Dollar General also came under pressure.
Google shares also fell, down 0.8% as investors continued to weigh a management shake-up.
Citigroup shares fell 0.8% after the US Treasury announced it would sell most of the government's remaining share in the company.
Banking shares were down more broadly.
Conversely major US airlines saw their stock prices rise.
Untied Continental shares were up 1.8%, Delta wa up 1% and the holding company for American Airlines rose 0.8%.
The bond market extended its rise from Friday. The 10-year Treasury yielded 3.402% versus 3.416%, while the 30-year Treasury fell to 4.542% against 4.574%.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
