U.S. Indexes Inch Up as Stocks Churn, Markets Await Trade Deal

The U.S. stock market inched higher Monday, the latest nudge in its record-setting, six-week run, as markets wait for the next development in trade talks between the United States and China.

All three major indexes edged above the all-time highs they set on Friday, though the seemingly placid moves masked plenty of churn going on underneath. Nearly as many stocks in the S&P 500 fell as rose, and it took big gains for technology stocks and others to make up for sharp losses by oil producers.

The S&P 500 rose 1.57 points, or 0.1%, to 3,122.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 31.33, or 0.1%, to 28,036.22, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 9.11, or 0.1%, to 8,549.94.

Small-company stocks fell. The Russell 2000 index gave up 4.11, or 0.3%, to 1,592.34.

The market has been on a tear since early October, and indexes have been on a nearly uninterrupted run as worries about a possible recession have faded.

That leaves negotiations in the U.S.-China trade war as the remaining wild card for the market. President Donald Trump had earlier hoped to have signatures on the first phase of a trade deal by now, at a major international summit that was scheduled for this past weekend. But the president of the summit’s host nation, Chile, canceled the meeting last month amid nationwide protests.

Some churn was on display Monday as energy stocks sank 1.3%. It was the largest loss by far among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500, and it tracked a sharp drop for oil and natural gas prices. ConocoPhillips fell 2.7%, and Chevron sank 1.7%.

Counterbalancing those losses were big gains for technology stocks, particularly chip makers. They bolted higher after the Commerce Department gave another 90-day extension for Chinese tech giant Huawei to continue dealing with U.S. companies.

Nvidia jumped 4% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Advanced Micro Devices was close behind with a 3.4% rise.

But a drop in Treasury yields Monday may have made the dividends paid by defensive stocks more attractive.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.81% from 1.83% late Friday.

Trading was quiet Monday as the market nears the end of corporate reporting season. More than 90% of companies in the S&P 500 have already said how much summertime profit they made and reports have mostly come in ahead of Wall Street’s expectations.

Still on deck are several big retailers. Home Depot will report results on Tuesday. Target and Lowe’s will report results on Wednesday. Macy’s and Gap will release their earnings on Thursday.

Overseas stock markets were mixed.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5%, South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.1% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.3%. London’s FTSE 100 added 0.1%. France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.2% and Germany’s DAX lost 0.3%.

In the commodities markets, benchmark oil fell 67 cents to settle at $57.05 a barrel. Brent crudefell 86 cents to close at $62.44 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $1.62 per gallon. Heating oil declined 5 cents to $1.90 per gallon. Natural gas fell 12 cents to $2.57 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $3.60 to $1,470.90 per ounce, silver rose 6 cents to $16.99 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.62 per pound.

The dollar fell to 108.65 Japanese yen from 108.84 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1076 from $1.1053.