NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 met tough resistance on Monday, failing to break a level that has held since mid-February even as a spate of deals and underlying strength in the economy spurred optimism.
Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 23.31 points, or 0.19 percent, to end unofficially at 12,400.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up just 0.46 of a point, or 0.03 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,332.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down only 0.41 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to close unofficially at 2,789.19. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)