Story Stocks

Stocks again ticked higher Thursday as the continuing rebound in oil prices gave energy companies a lift. The gains were modest, however, as investors have avoided big moves. The dollar weakened further, falling to its lowest level against the Japanese yen in almost three years and below the psychological level of 100 yen to the dollar. The weaker dollar helped exporters including technology and chemical companies. Phone company stocks continued to slump, as did financial firms. Stocks haven’t moved much this week and haven’t made many big moves over the last month due to the summer slowdown.