The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.86 points (0.11 percent) to end at 10,564.38 after closing on a flat note a day earlier in the absence of market-moving news.

The Nasdaq composite added 8.47 points (0.36 percent) to 2,340.68 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 1.94 points (0.17 percent) to 1,140.44.

Investors were cautious as Wall Street marked the anniversary of the stock market's 12-year low set on March 9, 2009, amid the financial crisis stemming from a home mortgage meltdown.

Since then, the blue-chip Dow index has rallied more than 60 percent.

"We continue to believe the current underlying market rally remains in place, but day-to-day pullbacks are a normal part of a longer-term bull market," said Frederic Dickson, chief market strategist of DA Davidson & Co.

"We expect investors to increase equity exposure on the dips. This behavior is consistent with the market psychology seen in an extended bull market," he said.

Stock investors Tuesday were seeking market-moving news in the absence of any key economic data due for release early this week, analysts said.

"Caution seems to be brewing in the markets as investors give pause after stocks advanced in three of the last four weeks," Briefing.com's Patrick O'Hare said.

"With a nearly 70 percent return over the last 12 months in the S&P 500, investors may be starting to feel a bit wary," he said.

Among gainers was aerospace giant Boeing, rising 0.82 percent to US$67.79, after it was poised to win a US$35 billion contract to build an aerial refueling tanker plane for the U.S. Air Force.

Northrop Grumman, which fell 0.25 percent to US$64.00, and its European partner EADS announced after the market close Monday that they would not bid.

Northrop charged that air force requirements for the tanker program published last month favored Boeing and insisted that its larger tanker had greater capabilities at a competitive price.