Wall Street edges up on ECB hopes, M&A activity

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Tuesday as merger activity and expectations for rates cuts by the European Central Bank stoked bids for equities even after the benchmark S&P 500 index closed at a record on Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.15 points or 0.22 percent, to 16,642.42, the S&P 500 gained 5.54 points or 0.29 percent, to 1,906.07 and the Nasdaq Composite added 19.74 points or 0.47 percent, to 4,205.55. (Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Nick Zieminski)