Stocks Approach Records as Energy Companies Rise

U.S. stocks are rising, putting major indexes on track to close at record highs, as energy companies climb with the price of oil. Investors are hoping that OPEC countries will soon be able to finalize a deal that would cut oil production and help support prices. Meat producer Tyson Foods is tumbling after it reported weak fourth-quarter results.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average gained 53 points, or 0.3 percent, to reach 18,921 as of 12 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,194. The Nasdaq composite increased 38 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,359. Small-company stocks, which are at record highs already, also continued to climb.

ENERGY: Benchmark New York crude gained $1.65, or 3.6 percent, to reach $47.34 a barrel while Brent crude, the international standard, rose $1.73, or 3.7 percent, to $48.59 a barrel in London. That led to gains for energy companies. Marathon Oil rose 75 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $16.37 and Exxon Mobil added $1.01, or 1.2 percent, to reach $86.29. Chevron rose $1.34, or 1.2 percent, to $110.54.

OPEC nations will meet in Vienna on Nov. 30. They have agreed to preliminary terms of a deal that will reduce the production of oil slightly, but the details remain to be determined.

NOT SO APPETIZING: Meat producer Tyson Foods tumbled $9.31, or 13.8 percent, to $58.05. The company’s fourth-quarter profit and sales fell far short of Wall Street’s forecasts as Tyson’s chicken business struggled. The company also said CEO Donnie Smith will step down at the end of this year, and company president Tom Hayes will replace him.

Competitor Hormel Foods fell 82 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $34.76.

LOCKED UP: Identity theft and fraud protection company LifeLock jumped $3.18, or 15.3 percent, to $23.93 after security software maker Symantec agreed to buy the company for $2.3 billion. The deal values LifeLock at $24 a share. Symantec picked up $1.03, or 4.3 percent, to $24.78.

WATERS RISING: Building products company Headwaters agreed to be bought by Boral Ltd. of Australia in a deal the companies valued at $2.6 billion, or $24.25 per share. Its stock climbed $3.44, or 17.1 percent, to $23.53.

OIL DEAL: Sunoco Logistics agreed to buy Energy Transfer Partners in an all-stock deal. The two companies are involved in the Dakota Access Pipeline project. A portion of that pipeline would pump oil under Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota, and the local Standing Rock Sioux tribe and others are protesting the pipeline, saying they fear a leak could contaminate the drinking water on its reservation. They also say it could disturb sacred sites.

Both companies traded lower, however. Energy Transfer Partners fell $2.89, or 7.3 percent, to $36.48 and Sunoco Logistics skidded $2.12, or 8.1 percent, to $24.07. Energy Transfer Equity, the general partner of Energy Transfer Partners, picked up 48 cents, or 2.8 percent, to get to $17.77.

ORACLE SEES A DEAL: Business software maker Oracle said it will buy Dyn, a company that helps route internet traffic to its destination. A month ago Dyn was at the center of a huge cyberattack that temporarily stopped some American and European internet users from accessing a number of popular websites. The company said its server infrastructure was hit by distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks. Oracle’s stock remained at $39.86.

LOGGING ON: Technology stocks also made substantial gains. They have lagged the market since the election after very strong performance over the summer. Facebook rose $3.99, or 3.4 percent, to $121.01 while online payments company PayPal advanced 52 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $40.60 and Alphabet, the corporate parent of Google, picked up $9.20, or 1.2 percent, to reach $785.15.

MATERIAL MOVEMENT: Companies that make basic materials did better than most other industries. Copper and gold producer Freeport-McMoran climbed 56 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $14.29 as the price of copper rose. Fertilizer makers CF Industries and Mosaic both traded higher. CF Industries added 64 cents, or 2.2 percent, to reach $29.60 and Mosaic rose 36 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $28.62.

CURRENCIES: The dollar, which is at a 13-year high, gave up some of its recent gains against some other currencies. The euro rose to $1.0606 from $1.0599. The dollar rose to 111.08 yen from 110.63 yen.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.32 percent from 2.35 percent. Utilities traded higher. Those stocks tend to do better when bond yields are down.

OVERSEAS: France’s CAC-40 index rose 0.5 percent while the DAX of Germany picked up 0.1 percent. The FTSE 100 index in Britain dipped 0.1 percent. The Nikkei 225 of Japan rose 0.8 percent. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.4 percent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged up less than 0.1 percent.