S&P 500 Scores Record High

U.S. stocks ended Monday's choppy session fractionally higher. A small gain on the S&P 500 was enough to send the index into record close. Stocks were under pressure in the morning trade following news that Japan fell into recession and less-than-stellar manufacturing data in the U.S. Comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, who said that the ECB would be open to buying government bonds, if needed have buoyed U.S. stocks somewhat in the afternoon trade, but gains petered out. The S&P 500 ended 1.5 points higher at 2,041.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 13 points, or 0.1%, to 17,647.75. The Nasdaq Composite closed 17.5 points, or 0.4%, lower at 4,671.