Stocks creep up to another record

Another day, another lazy drift higher for stocks and another record high.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index surpassed its previous record set Wednesday by 0.09%, the latest nudge higher for a market that has taken a slow and steady path to all-time highs in recent weeks. Telecom and utility stocks led the way, as they have for much of this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq composite also rose. The gains sent all three indexes to their fourth consecutive winning week, their longest streak since March.

Many doubts still hang over the market, including the continued drop for corporate earnings and a U.S. economy that is growing only modestly. But various earnings and economic reports have come in better than expected, and the S&P 500 is up nearly 9% since June 27.

Southwestern Energy jumped 9.5% to $14.47, the biggest gain in the S&P 500, on its own better-than-expected earnings report. It lost money in the latest quarter but less than analysts estimated. The producer of natural gas and oil also raised its forecast for production this year.

American Airlines Group likewise rose despite reporting a drop in earnings. Shares climbed 4% to $36.36 after the company posted better results than analysts expected.

California firms making big moves included Skechers USA, which plunged 22.3% to $24.99 after the Manhattan Beach shoe company reported profit and sales that were far smaller than expected.

The telecom and utilities sectors each rose 1.3% to lead the market. They have been at the forefront of the market’s rise this year because they pay some of the biggest dividends, and investors are scrounging for income given the low interest rates paid by bonds.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 1.56%.

Honeywell International fell 2.6% to $115.61 after reporting stronger earnings than analysts expected but also lowering its forecast for full-year sales. That helped hold the industrial sector to gains of only 0.1%, the weakest among the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500.

Friday’s gains were the latest in a steady march higher for stocks. The S&P 500 has not had a day when it moved by 1%, up or down, in the last two weeks. It’s a sharp turnaround from the end of June, when worries about Britain’s vote to leave the European Union sent the S&P 500 to six straight days when it swung at least 1%.

The price of U.S. crude fell 56 cents, or 1.2%, to $44.19 a barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 51 cents, or 1.1%, to $45.69 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $1.36 a gallon; heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.36 a gallon; and natural gas rose 9 cents to $2.78 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The pound fell to $1.3093 from $1.3203. The dollar ticked up to 106.17 Japanese yen from 105.86 yen, and the euro slipped to $1.0961 from $1.1013.