Stocks eked out slight gains on Wall Street Tuesday, enough to send major indexes to more record highs. The benchmark S&P 500 had its fifth gain in a row. Banks and companies that rely on consumer spending led the way higher. Goldman Sachs rose 1.4%. Stocks have been rising on optimism about an interim US-China trade deal announced on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 1 point, less than 0.1%, to 3,192. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31 points, or 0.1%, to 28,267 and the Nasdaq rose 9 points, or 0.1%, to 8,823. Bond prices rose, sending yields slightly lower.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Financial companies led stocks to modest gains on Wall Street Tuesday afternoon, nudging the S&P 500 toward its fifth straight gain and another record high.
The three major stock indexes were hovering just above their record highs set a day earlier as investors weclomed encouraging reports on U.S. home construction, industrial production and job openings.
Stocks have been vaulting higher in the last week on optimism about an interim U.S.-China trade deal announced on Friday. A Federal Reserve meeting last week also spurred buying after investors saw signals from Chairman Jerome Powell that interest rates will stay low for a while.
“A lot of the strength that we’re seeing is just a continuation of the ‘Phase 1’ U.S.-China deal from last week and some potential clarity around Brexit,” said Jamie Lavin, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “But, really, this morning one of the things that’s kept us higher is we did see some stronger economic data.”
Banks notched the biggest gains. Goldman Sachs Group rose 1.5% and Citigroup added 1.4%. Gains for Amazon, Target and other companies that depend on spending by consumers also helped to push the S&P 500 modestly higher, but drops for UnitedHealth, Boston Scientific and other health care stocks kept the market in check.
Technology stocks, which have been the market’s strongest gainers this year, were the biggest losers Tuesday. Oracle slid 2% and Autodesk dropped 1.7%. The tech sector has had big swings in recent months with every hint of progress in the trade conflict between Washington and Beijing because of how much business the companies do in China. Tuesday’s slide in tech stocks was probably due in part to investors cashing in on their big gains ahead of 2020, Lavin said.
“It’s been a strong year in equity markets and people are getting their portfolios ready for 2020, so it could be some some profit-taking impact,” she said.
Treasury yields gave back some of their gains from a day earlier, while the price of crude oil continued its recent march higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 was up 0.1% as of 3:24 p.m. Eastern time. If it stays up for the day, it would be the fifth straight gain for the index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 58 points, or 0.2%, to 28,294. The Nasdaq rose 0.1%, while the Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 0.3%.
Major stock indexes in Europe finished lower.
YIELDS: The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.88% from 1.89% late Monday. The two-year yield slipped to 1.63% from 1.65%, and the 30-year yield was little changed at 2.31%.
ECONOMIC SIGNALS: Industrial production and manufacturing were stronger last month than economists expected, but they still are weaker than a year ago. Industrial production rebounded to 1.1% growth in November from October, better than the 0.8% that the market was expecting. But it remains 0.8% below year-ago levels.
Housing data were also stronger than expected. Homebuilders broke ground on 3.2% more homes in November than October, well above the 1.2% growth that economists had projected. In addition, applications for building permits jumped to the highest level in 12 years.
Housing has been on the upswing for months following three interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve earlier in the year. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now almost a full percentage point below where it was a year ago.
“Now that (rates) are coming down, you’re seeing housing starts pick back up,” Lavin said.
Homebulder shares were mixed following the report. KB Home fell 2.3%, while Toll Brothers rose 0.4%.
STREAMING EVERYWHERE: Netflix jumped 3.9% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500. The company reported breakdowns for its revenue and membership by region, which analysts said showed that Netflix has been increasing its prices steadily around the world.
BOUNCING BEYOND: Bed Bath & Beyond surged 10.1% after its new CEO shook up the company’s management by removing six senior executives, including its chief merchandising officer and chief legal officer. CEO Mark Tritton, who took over the company about two months ago, said it was the first in a number of steps Bed Bath & Beyond is taking to transform itself.
HEAVY METAL: Worthington Industries jumped 8.4% after the metal manufacturer’s fiscal second-quarter results topped Wall Street’s forecasts.
OIL PRICES: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 73 cents, or 1.2%, to $60.94 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 76 cents to $66.10 per barrel. Crude oil has been touching its highest price in three months.
