Stocks shook off an early loss on Monday to notch their fourth consecutive gain in a row. Investors had their eye on the latest string of deal news, as well as a new report showing U.S. home sales slumped last month. Telecommunications and health care stocks were among the biggest risers.

On Monday:

The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 21.57 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,623.87.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,051.60.

The Nasdaq composite index added 13.23 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,808.87.

For the year:

The Dow is up 198.84 points, or 1.1 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 7.66 points, or 0.4 percent.

The Nasdaq is down 198.54 points, or 4 percent.