Stocks climbed as investors hope for an agreement to avert automatic tax hikes. The Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s announcement that he would step down after next year’s budget is approved, added uncertainty about the euro-area debt crisis but failed to move the market. McDonald’s rose 1.1% after the co. reported a 2.4% gain in global sales last month. Hewlett-Packard and Cisco led gains in tech stocks, climbing 2.55% and 2.35% respectively. Apple declined 0.6% after Jefferies Group reduced its share-price outlook. Groupon shed 9.3%, after soaring 20% Friday, as investors appeared to play down talk of a possible acquisition by Google. After the closing bell Texas Instruments shed 0.10% in volatile trading after the co. said it now expects revenue of $2.89 billion to $3.01 billion for the fourth quarter, narrowing the previous forecast.
