Earnings reports drive stocks higher

U.S. stocks edged higher as investors parsed a mixed bag of earnings and rising oil prices boosted energy producers. Treasuries fell and the dollar advanced amid signs geopolitical tensions are easing.

The S&P 500 eked out a third straight gain, with the advance fading in the final half hour of trading amid light volume. IBM Corp.’s weak results dragged the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a loss. Oil surged around 3 percent after an industry report showed crude inventories fell, driving energy stocks higher.

Treasury yields rose toward 2.87 percent in the wake of a Federal Reserve report Wednesday that showed trade concerns cast a shadow over an otherwise solid outlook for the economy. The dollar gained for a second day after the U.S. said it’s already started direct talks with North Korea and Russian leader Vladimir Putin was said to be seeking to dial down tensions with America.

“It’s important to note that whenever we get periods where the politics are quiet or looking like they’re going to stabilize, markets are doing well,” George Maris, Janus Henderson’s co-head of equities, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “And the reason for that is the underpinning of the economy and of companies right now is really good.”

There’s once again no shortage of catalysts for investors across the globe, from corporate fundamentals and geopolitics to simmering trade tensions and growth concerns. The bulls appear to have the upper hand as the earnings season starts.

Elsewhere, nickel surged to the highest in more than three years on the London Metal Exchange on worries that the metal used in stainless steel could be caught in the crossfire of any further sanctions against Russia. Turkey’s lira extended gains after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for snap elections.