New York  - Wall Street stocks were mostly higher Monday on very light trading during a government holiday in observance of Columbus Day.

Volume was about 6.6 billion shares, the slowest trading session since January 2.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20.86 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 9,885.8. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 4.7 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 1,076.19. The technology- heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.14 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 2,139.14.

The US currency fell to 67.675 euro cents from 67.93 euro cents on Friday. The dollar was unchanged against the Japanese currency at 89.81 yen.  dpa