S&P 500 snaps 4-day losing skid

N EW YORK» Banks and health care companies led stocks broadly higher on Wall Street on Thursday, ending a four-day losing streak for the benchmark S&P 500 index.

The gains after a mostly wobbly week of trading reflect cautious optimism on the part of investors before a key trade meeting between President Donald Trump and China’s president, Xi Jinping, set for this weekend in Osaka, Japan.

The trade war between the world’s two biggest economies remains the biggest source of uncertainty looming over Wall Street. Investors are worried that the fallout from the tariffs imposed by both countries on each other’s goods could hurt global economic growth and corporate profits.

“Investors are in a waitand-see mode in advance of the G20 meetings,” said Kate Warne, an investment strategist at Edward Jones. “The reason we’re seeing stocks slightly higher today is they’re anticipating that Trump and Xi will at least agree not to impose additional tariffs.”

The S&P 500 index rose 11.14 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,924.92. The index is up 6.3 percent for the month, with only one day left of trading in June.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 10.24 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 26,526.58. The Nasdaq composite gained 57.79 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,967.76. Smaller company stocks did far better than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks climbed 28.78 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,546.55.

Major indexes in Europe ended mixed.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.01 percent from 2.04 percent late Wednesday.

The market’s trajectory has been wobbly for much of this week, often starting strong and then losing momentum toward the end of trading. Investors have been mostly looking ahead to this weekend’s meeting between Trump and Xi at the Group of Twenty nations summit in Japan.

Despite worries over trade, investors have mostly pushed stocks higher this month as the Federal Reserve raised expectations that it is prepared to cut interest rates if needed to shield the economy should the damage from the trade conflict worsen.

Every major index is on track to register gains of more than 6 percent for the month, despite having declined roughly 1 percent so far this week.

Banks were the biggest gainers Thursday. Bank of America and Wells Fargo each rose 1.1 percent.

Health care stocks gained momentum during the day. AbbVie climbed 2.9 percent, one of the biggest gainers in the sector. The company is in the process of buying Botox maker Allergan for $63 billion. Other health care stocks also rose. CVS Health gained 1.9 percent, while Humana picked up 1.2 percent.

Technology stocks also rose. Chipmakers, which have much to gain or lose from the result of the U.S.-China trade negotiations, were particularly strong. Micron Technology climbed 2.8 percent and Nvidia rose 2.5 percent.

Utilities and makers of consumer products eked out small gains in another sign that investors were shifting away from safeplay holdings.

Energy stocks lagged the broader market. ConocoPhillips slid 2.4 percent.

Boeing helped pull the Dow into the red after the airplane maker said a new software problem was found in its grounded 737 Max jets. Boeing shares slid 2.9 percent.

A report showing that more Americans signed contracts to buy a home in May than in the previous month helped spur a broad rally in homebuilders. The data signal that would-be homebuyers may be ready to take advantage of low interest rates and stabilizing home prices. Builder New Home Co. led the pack, vaulting 11.1 percent.

Chef Boyardee and Peter Pan peanut butter maker Conagra Brands slumped 12.1 percent — the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 — after its latest quarterly results fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.

Benchmark crude oil rose 5 cents to settle at $59.43 per barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 6 cents to close at $66.55 per barrel.

Wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $1.95 per gallon. Heating oil declined 2 cents to $1.95 per gallon. Natural gas climbed 6 cents to $2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $3.10 to $1,408.40 per ounce, silver fell 9 cents to $15.21 per ounce and copper was unchanged at $2.71 per pound.