Defensive names rallied in an otherwise flat day for Wall Street on Monday, as traders paused to digest recent gains and looked ahead to a Federal Reserve monetary policy statement.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 37.69 points, or 0.29 percent, to end unofficially at 12,959.56. The S&P 500 Index ticked up just 0.22 of a point, or 0.02 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,371.09. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 4.68 points, or 0.16 percent, to close unofficially at 2,983.66.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)