Bank, transportation sectors gain

NEW YORK — Big gains for banks and transportation companies like airlines and railroads took U.S. stock indexes slightly higher Wednesday. Other parts of the market didn’t move much. United Continental had its best day in two years after it said strong demand is resulting in higher ticket prices, while railroad company CSX said it’s still cutting costs and improving operations. Their competitors also jumped. Banks and other financial companies got a boost from strong second-quarter results, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway made its biggest gain in almost seven years after it loosened its rules on stock buybacks. The S&P 500 index rose 6.07 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,815.62. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 79.40 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,199.29. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.67 point to 7,854.44. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 4.61 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,691.87. Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network, said the combination of strong consumer spending, rising business investment and good economic data is likely to lead to another quarter of strong earnings growth. “Everything is going right at the moment,” he said. “This quarter’s earnings are going to reflect that.” Stocks have been rising this month, even as trade tensions with China continue to mount, as investors anticipate solid second-quarter earnings reports from U.S. companies. The S&P 500 is up 3.6 percent so far in July. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell wrapped up his testimony to Congress about economic and monetary policy. He said the trade war with China might make inflation speed up, but continued to express a very positive view of the state of the economy overall. McMillan said that Powell’s comments were so upbeat that he wonders if the Fed is really reckoning with the risks posed by tariffs and higher interest rates. “I’ve never seen a central bank look quite that confident, and frankly it makes me nervous,” he said. United Continental surpassed Wall Street projections and said strong demand is resulting in higher prices as the summer travel season sets in. Its stock surged 8.8 percent to $79. CSX said its profit climbed 72 percent in its latest quarter as it kept cutting costs and improving its operations. The results were stronger than analysts expected and the stock added 7.1 percent to $69. While investors are focusing more on company earnings than trade policy at the moment, U.S. uranium mining companies rose after the Commerce Department started an investigation into the impact of uranium imports on U.S. national security. That could result in tariffs, similar to the investigation into steel and aluminum imports that resulted in big taxes on steel from the European Union, Canada, Mexico and Japan. Energy Fuels, one of the companies that requested the investigation, rose 3.9 percent to $1.60. Uranium Energy added 1.3 percent to $2.34. The European Union fined Google a record $5 billion Wednesday for using the market dominance of its Android mobile operating system to force handset makers to install Google apps, reducing choice for consumers. The company said it plans to appeal the ruling. A year ago, EU regulators fined Google $2.8 billion for favoring its shopping listings in search results. Shares of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, took a small loss and closed at $1,212.91.