Dow continues run toward 14,000

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks gained ground near midday Monday, despite higher oil prices, as investors awaited earnings figures and inflation reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 62.27 to 13,969.52, Charts) added 0.5 percent after ending the previous session above 13,900 for the first time ever. By midday it was within 25 points of 14,000.

The tech heavy Nasdaq composite index (up 3.37 to 2,710.37, Charts) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index (up 2.40 to 1,554.90, Charts) rose more than 0.1 percent.

Both the Dow and S&P continued their campaign into record territory last week, but going forward traders will have to grapple with a string of corporate earnings reports, inflation numbers and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, according to Hugh Johnson, chairman of asset management company Johnson Illington Advisors. On top of which, "the price of oil adds a little bit of spice," he added.

"There's a real chance there will be some excitement this week," Johnson said.

British mobile phone group Vodafone is considering a $160 billion takeover bid for Verizon Communications (Charts, Fortune 500), according to a report in the online edition of the Financial Times. Despite Vodafone's denial, shares of Verizon rose nearly 3 percent.

Pancake house operator IHOP (Charts) said it agreed to buy fellow restaurant operator Applebee's International (Charts) for about $2.1 billion, sending shares of both companies higher.

And Ford (Charts, Fortune 500) said it is not in negotiations to sell its Volvo unit after reports over the weekend said the automaker had decided to put the Swedish unit up for sale.

Shares of Blue Nile (Charts) jumped 9 percent after a Citigroup analyst upgraded the online jewelry retailer to "buy" from "hold."

Syntax-Brillian (Charts) also soared 19 percent after the TV maker raised its revenue outlook for the year, citing strong demand for its high-definition televisions.

In earnings news, shares of Mattel (Charts, Fortune 500) climbed 3 percent after the toy maker posted earnings in line with expectations.

Later on in the week, tech giants Microsoft (Charts, Fortune 500) and Intel (Charts, Fortune 500) are due to report. Financial firms Merrill Lynch (Charts, Fortune 500), Citigroup (Charts, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (Charts, Fortune 500) are also slated to post earnings this week.

Market breadth was negative. Losers edged out winners on the New York Stock Exchange by a margin of eight to seven on volume of 450 million shares. Decliners beat gainers by four to three on the Nasdaq on volume of 650 million shares.

A number of key economic readings are also due out this week including readings on inflation, both at the wholesale and consumer level, and housing starts which is due out Wednesday.

Treasury prices edged up, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.08 percent from around 5.09 percent late Friday.

The dollar held near record lows against the euro and remained steady versus the yen ahead of Bernanke's testimony before Congress on Wednesday.

Oil prices edged higher. U.S. light crude for August delivery added 37 cents to $74.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for August delivery rose 50 cents to $667.80 an ounce.

In global trade, European stocks were mixed in afternoon trading, and most Asian markets finished the session slightly lower.