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Stocks edge up, extending their winning streak

The Wall Street entrance of the New York Stock Exchange.
The Wall Street entrance of the New York Stock Exchange.
(Richard Drew / Associated Press)
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U.S. stocks posted modest gains Monday, extending a record-setting run into a sixth straight week.

Financial and technology companies notched some of the biggest gains. Energy stocks rose as crude oil prices went up. Healthcare companies declined the most. Bond prices fell.

The three major stock indexes closed at new highs, despite a day of mostly listless trading as investors looked ahead to a slew of company earnings reports over the next few weeks.

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“Today is a sort of wait-and-see market as investors are really looking for the direction of earnings and whether companies continue to report strong results,” said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones. “That will be a catalyst for stocks to move higher.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.47 points, or 0.2%, to 2,557.64. Last week, the index had its fifth straight weekly gain.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 85.24 points, or 0.4%, to 22,956.96. The Nasdaq composite advanced 18.20 points, or 0.3%, to 6,624. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks inched up 0.02 of a point to 1,502.68.

Trading was subdued for most of Monday. Stocks edged up early on and wavered somewhat by afternoon but ultimately held on to their slight gains as traders awaited for more quarterly results from companies to pour in.

A few companies, mostly big banks, kicked off the third-quarter earnings season last week. Monday was a relatively light day for earnings, but the pace was slated to pick up Tuesday and into next week, when the bulk of S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report quarterly results.

Among the companies due to report earnings this week are Goldman Sachs, UnitedHealth Group, American Express and General Electric.

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In the meantime, investors bid up shares in banks and technology companies. The sectors are the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 so far this year. JPMorgan Chase rose 2.1% to $97.84 on Monday. Micron Technology rose 2.7% to $41.49.

“Tech and financials are somewhat higher as investors continue to expect good earnings ahead,” Warne said.

Healthcare stocks declined the most. Allergan slid 3.5% to $198.41. Bristol-Myers Squibb fell 2.5% to $63.65.

Traders bid up shares of companies announcing deals.

Ruby Tuesday jumped 18.6% to $2.36 after the struggling restaurant chain said it has agreed to be acquired by NRD Capital in a deal valued by the companies at $335 million, or $2.40 a share, including debt and other items.

KBR climbed 3.6% to $18.29 after the engineering and construction company said it will buy Australian defense technology company Sigma Bravo.

Nordstrom slid 5.3% to $40.40 after the department store chain said it is temporarily shelving its bid to go private.

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Sears Holdings slumped 11.5% to $5.99 on news that Bruce Berkowitz, who runs a firm that is the retailer’s biggest shareholder, is leaving Sears’ board of directors.

Exelixis leapt 17.2% to $29.02 after the biotech company reported positive study results for its cancer drug Cabometyx.

Oil prices rose amid rising tensions in the Middle East as Iraqi federal forces moved into the disputed city of Kirkuk and seized oil fields, prompting a withdrawal by Kurdish forces. Benchmark U.S. crude oil ticked up 42 cents, or 0.8%, to $51.87 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, climbed 65 cents, or 1.1%, to $57.82 a barrel.

That helped boost energy companies. Apache shares rose 2.2% to $42.50.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline was little changed at $1.62 a gallon. Heating oil rose 2 cents to $1.81 a gallon. Natural gas slid 5 cents to $2.95 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.30% from 2.27%.

Gold fell $1.60 to $1,303 an ounce. Silver fell 4 cents to $17.37 an ounce. Copper rose 11 cents, or 3.4%, to $3.24 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112.22 yen from 111.89 yen. The euro fell to $1.1792 from $1.1817.

Global stocks closed mostly higher after finance leaders appealed over the weekend for a continuation of low-interest-rate policies to keep economic recoveries on track.

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Germany’s DAX rose 0.1% and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.2%, while the FTSE 100 in London slipped 0.1%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index added 0.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 0.8%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3%.

The S&P ASX/200 in Australia gained 0.6%. India’s Sensex picked up 0.6%. Shares in Southeast Asia were higher.


UPDATES:

2:25 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.

This article was originally published at 8:05 a.m.

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