Wall Street ticks up as dividend payers rise, GE tumbles

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes ticked up on Monday as a sharp drop in General Electric shares was offset by gains in high dividend-paying sectors including consumer staples and utilities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 17.76 points, or 0.08 percent, to 23,439.97, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 2.56 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,584.86 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 6.66 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,757.60.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by James Dalgleish)