(Updates to midday)

By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher in choppy trade on Monday as gains in shares of companies that tend to weather economic slowdowns offset concerns about a possible recession after Friday's dismal jobs report.

Drug makers, such as Merck & Co <MRK.N>, and those of companies that make consumer staples, such as cigarette maker Altria Group Inc <MO.N>, led the market advance as major indexes rebounded.

Stocks seesawed from positive into negative territory as fears of a recession persisted on Friday's jobs report and geopolitical concerns weighed after an incident in the Middle East involving U.S. Navy ships.

"A lot of investors are selling tech and are becoming a lot more defensive," said Owen Fitzpatrick, head of U.S. Equity Group at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 37.71 points, or 0.29 percent, at 12,837.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 7.09 points, or 0.50 percent, at 1,418.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 7.92 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,512.57.

Stocks had started the year sharply lower, albeit in thin volume. By Monday, most trading desks were fully staffed.

The latest geopolitical tensions also put investors on edge, after the Pentagon said five Iranian boats made aggressive maneuvers and showed hostile intent against three U.S. Navy ships at the weekend in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil flows through the Strait account for roughly 40 percent of all globally traded oil supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Merck shares gained 1.7 percent to $57.81 on the New York Stock Exchange, while shares of Altria, parent of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, gained 1.7 percent to $57.83.

A sharp pullback in crude oil prices lent some support.

U.S. crude tumbled $2.77, or 2.8 percent, a barrel to $95.14 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as unseasonably warm weather and worries of a looming recession in the world's top oil consumer, the United States, outweighed the fresh tensions between Iran and the U.S. (Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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