Stocks inch higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks gained Tuesday morning as investors welcomed news of big investments from Berkshire Hathaway and others. However, any advance was limited by a mixed housing report and continued reluctance after the recent run.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 49.41 to 13,433.25, Charts) added 0.3 percent after ending the previous session at an all-time high. The broader S&P 500 index (up 5.69 to 1,506.88, Charts) added 0.4 percent and remained within reach of its all-time high from March 2000.

The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (up 8.71 to 2,534.00, Charts) gained 0.3 percent.

Stocks had a choppy start to the week, with the major gauges tending to rise in the morning and then turn mixed in the afternoon as investors struggle to push the market higher after the recent record-breaking run.

Wednesday brought plenty of upbeat corporate news in the early going, however, it was tempered by the housing market report. Housing starts unexpectedly rose in April versus expectations for a drop, but building permits, a sign of upcoming construction, fell more than expected.

In corporate news, Berkshire Hathaway, run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, said in an SEC filing that it had almost doubled its stake in Dow stock Johnson & Johnson (up $0.89 to $62.71, Charts, Fortune 500) recently. Berkshire has also taken stakes in railroads Norfolk Southern (up $0.47 to $56.34, Charts, Fortune 500) and Union Pacific (up $0.70 to $118.99, Charts, Fortune 500), as well as insurer Wellpoint (up $1.30 to $84.85, Charts, Fortune 500).

Investor Eddie Lampert revealed an $800 million stake in Dow stock Citigroup (up $1.79 to $54.59, Charts, Fortune 500), while George Soros has more than doubled his holdings in Dow stock Microsoft (up $0.08 to $30.98, Charts, Fortune 500).

U.S. light crude oil for June delivery fell 72 cents to $62.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices slipped, pushing the yield on the 10-year note to 4.71 percent, up from 4.70 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar gained against the euro and the yen.