Summary Box: Traders shrug off poor consumer confidence reading

Summary Box: Stocks recover from early losses

LATE PUSH: Stocks struggled to win late gains on Tuesday after being down or mixed for much of the day. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 46 points.

STRONG SEPTEMBER: The Dow is up 8.4 percent so far in September, keeping it on track for its strongest showing for that month since 1939.

MORE DEALS: Investors were encouraged to see the flow of corporate deals continuing. Drug developer Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings is buying Qualitest Pharmaceuticals for $1.2 billion.