U.S. indexes creep upward as stocks churn, markets await trade deal

NEW YORK — 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. Solid economic data, better corporate earnings than analysts expected and interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have all helped.

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.

The two sides are continuing to negotiate, with stock markets around the world swinging on every hint of progress or tension.

“Things are somewhat stable right now, which is really crazy when I think about the geopolitical issues going on abroad and in the U.S.,” said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial. “But we caution investors to have reasonable expectations for additional gains going forward: Hope for the best, but be mindful that we could see an uptick in volatility at any time.”

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%.