Stock indexes turn mixed after early rally loses momentum

Stocks on Wall Street closed with modest gains Tuesday after an early rally lost momentum toward the end of the day.

The Nasdaq composite still finished with its second record high in three days, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended unchanged from the alltime high it set a day earlier.

The S&P 500 crossed above the 3,100 level for the first time, placing the index on track for its own milestone finish, but the gains didn’t hold. Still, the benchmark index rebounded nearly all the way back from a loss Monday that ended a threeday winning streak.

“There was some excitement on breaking 3,100, that perhaps we could continue higher on the S&P,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. “But we’ve had such an amazing two weeks that without any blockbuster news it was going to be difficult for us to continue higher.”

President Donald Trump gave an update Tuesday afternoon on trade negotiations with China, saying both sides are close to a “phaseone” deal. The markets didn’t have much of a reaction to the remarks, however.

The S&P 500 rose 4.83 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,091.84. The index, which set a record high on Friday, has notched gains the past five weeks in a row.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed unchanged at 27,691.49. The Nasdaq gained 21.81, or 0.3 percent, to 8,486.09, a record.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies added 0.35 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,595.12.

Stock indexes in Europe finished broadly higher.

Momentum for the market has been mostly upward for more than five weeks as worries about the U.S.China trade war have eased, among other factors.

On Tuesday, President Trump gave markets more reason for optimism on trade during a midday speech at the Economic Club of New York. Trump said the two sides are “close,” and that a “phaseone” deal on trade “could happen soon.”

Trump’s latest update on trade followed conflicting signals from U.S. and Chinese officials last week on whether the two sides have agreed to any tariff rollbacks as part of the tentative trade agreement they’re negotiating.

Besides expectations for a stopgap deal on the trade war, stocks have jumped recently due to interestrate cuts by the Federal Reserve, data showing the economy is still growingly solidly and corporate earnings reports for the summer that weren’t as weak as expected.