NEW YORK >> Stocks edged higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street today, continuing a strong streak that has brought seven straight weeks of gains.
The S&P 500 was up 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8 points, or less than 0.1%, to 37,311 as of 1:06 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq rose 0.6%.
Energy companies were putting up some big gains as the price of crude oil jumped amid growing concerns about attacks from Iranian-backed Houthis on shipping in the Red Sea. Oil and natural gas giant BP has joined the growing list of companies that have halted shipments in the major trade route.
Exxon Mobil rose 1.8% and Valero Energy rose 2.9%.
Treasury yields were higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.96% from 3.92% late Friday.
Markets in Asia and Europe were lower.
U.S. Steel soared 27% after agreeing to be acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel. The Pittsburgh steel maker played a key role in the nation’s industrialization. The all-cash deal is valued at about $14.1 billion, or $14.9 billion with debt. That’s nearly double what was offered just four months ago by rival Cleveland Cliffs.
Investors had several other corporate buyout updates to review. Photoshop maker Adobe rose 2.3% following an announcement that it is terminating its planned $20 billion buyout of Figma. Door maker Masonite International fell 16.9% after saying it will by PGT Innovations in a deal worth about $13 billion.
The broader market surged last week and added to solid December gains after the Federal Reserve signaled that inflation may have cooled enough for the central bank to shift to cutting interest rates in 2024. The Dow closed out last week with a record and the S&P 500 closed out last week with its longest weekly winning streak in six years, while edging closer to its all-time high.
Lower interest rates typically take pressure off of financial markets. The Fed’s goal since 2022 has been to slow the economy and grind down prices for investments enough through high interest rates to get inflation under control. Economic growth has slowed, but has not dipped into recession, while inflation continues easing.
Wall Street is betting that those conditions mean the Fed is done raising interest rates and could start cutting them in early 2024. Investors will get their last big inflation update of the year on Friday when the government releases its report on personal consumption expenditures. It’s the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation and has been easing since the middle of 2022.
Analysts polled by FactSet expect the measure of inflation to soften to 2.8% in November from 3% in October. It was as high as 7.1% in June of 2022.
Investors will also have a few big earnings reports to review this week, which could give them a better sense of how companies and consumers are faring amid high interest rates and lingering inflation. Package delivery service FedEx will report its latest financial results on Tuesday and Cheerios maker General Mills will report its results on Wednesday. Athletic footwear giant Nike will report its latest results on Thursday.
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