Major stock indexes nearing all-time highs

The major U.S. stock indexes edged mostly higher in afternoon trading Wednesday, a day after the S&P 500 ended a six-day winning streak.

Nearly 60 percent of the companies in the benchmark index rose, though a slide in technology stocks and companies that provide consumer services and products kept those gains in check.

The S&P 500 was up 0.1 percent as of 2:38 p.m. Eastern time after having been down 0.7 percent in the early going. The Dow

Jones Industrial Average rose 66 points, or 0.2 percent to 31,441 and the Nasdaq was up less than 0.1 percent. The three are still trading near the record highs they reached in recent days.

Investors continued to monitor the latest company earnings reports, including better-than-expected results from Twitter and Under Armour.

A report showing that inflation remained tame last month was encouraging for investors because it suggested the U.S. economy is in a strong position to receive more stimulus without overheating. “Generally, the market has seen a very favorable backdrop and that likely remains the case going forward,” said Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ. “Inflation remains benign and there’s still going to be a pretty big stimulus package going forward.”

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.13 percent from 1.15 percent late Wednesday. It was as a high as 1.20 percent earlier this week.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in January,

led by a surge in energy. Even though the gain was the biggest monthly increase since July, inflation over the past year has remained relatively low. Over the past year, inflation is up a modest 1.4 percent. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, is also up 1.4 percent with core prices unchanged in January.

Investors have started watching inflation metrics more closely as Democrats in Congress prepare to inject $1.9 trillion of stimulus into the economy.

U.S. businesses are starting to reopen and millions of Americans are now vaccinated, meaning there could be a surge of economic activity and therefore potential inflation. Before Wednesday’s report, Treasury yields had been climbing steadily for weeks, which is typically a sign that investors expect both the economy to get better and for inflation to increase.

Energy companies were holding up well and making some of the broadest gains as oil prices edged higher, adding to a roughly 12 percent gain so far in February. Devon Energy rose 4.2 percent and Hess gained 2.7 percent.