U.S. stocks in stall mode ahead of budget talks

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)
U.S. stocks finished nearly unchanged Monday, with the market treading water before talks to head off automatic spending cuts and tax hikes scheduled for the start of next year
"Unlike monetary policy which seems pretty certain, fiscal policy is the great unknown. In the short-term, the clock is ticking on the fiscal cliff," said Andrew Fitzpatrick, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.31 point to 12,816.70
The S&P 500 index gained a fraction to 1,380.00
The Nasdaq Composite  declined just over half a point to 2,904.26