Investors are drawing some comfort Tuesday from billionaire investor Warren Buffett's decision to pay $100 a share for Burlington Northern Santa Fe in a deal valuing the railroad at $34 billion.

Meanwhile, tool maker Stanley Works has agreed to acquire Black & Decker Corp. for $3.46 billion in stock.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 18 at 9,772. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 3 at 1,045. The Nasdaq composite index is up 8 at 2,057.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume totaled 1.4 billion compared with 1.1 billion Monday.