U.S. Stock Indexes Slightly Up in Afternoon Trading; Oil Down

Technology companies nudged U.S. stock indexes slightly higher in early afternoon trading Monday, outweighing losses in the energy and banking sectors. Investors were sizing up the latest company earnings and deal news. Oil prices headed lower.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,479 as of 1:11 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 22,109. The Nasdaq composite rose 29 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,381. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks increased 4 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,416.

THE QUOTE: “So far, it’s pretty quiet,” said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank. “It’s still summer, with overall things going pretty well, with the market at these all-time highs.”

TECH CLIMBS: Technology companies were leading the market’s gainers. Lam Research rose $5.68, or 3.8 percent, to $155.73. KLA-Tencor rose $3.25, or 3.7 percent, to $92.08.

CHOW DOWN: Tyson Foods gained 4.9 percent after the meat processor’s forecasts pleased investors. The company also turned in fiscal third-quarter results that beat Wall Street’s estimates. The stock gained $3.12 to $66.42.

CHIPPER RESULTS: ON Semiconductor rose 4.6 percent on stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue. The stock gained 69 cents to $15.79.

DONE DEAL: NxStage Medical vaulted 28.2 percent after the medical device company agreed to be acquired by Germany’s Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. for $30 a share in a cash deal valued at about $2 billion. NxStage shares rose $6.54 to $29.68.

MISSTEP: Armstrong Flooring slumped 17 percent after the company’s latest quarterly results fell well short of analysts’ forecasts. The stock slid $2.94 to $14.35.

PUMPED OUT: Energy companies were among the biggest decliners as crude oil prices headed lower.

Pioneer Natural Resources fell $5.54, or 4.1 percent, to $129.80, while Newfield Exploration shed $1.11, or 4 percent, to $26.72.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude was down 64 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $48.94 per barrel in New York. It increased 55 cents to $49.58 per barrel on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, was down 29 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $52.13 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The U.S. dollar climbed to 110.73 from 110.67 yen on Friday. It also weakened against the euro, which rose to $1.1791 from $1.1769. The euro was below $1.06 as recently as April, before the dollar began weakening steadily.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.26 percent from 2.27 percent late Friday.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 0.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 was up 0.1 percent. The FTSE 100 in Britain edged 0.3 percent higher. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.5 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1 percent.