Stocks Drift Higher in Early Trade

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes edged higher in early trading Monday, holding at record levels, as investors looked past a failed military coup in Turkey.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 3, or 0.2 percent, to 2,165.33 as of 10:25 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,539. The Nasdaq composite climbed 23, or 0.5 percent, to 5,052. Five of the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500 were up, while five were down.

OIL PAIN: Energy stocks lagged the market with a loss of 0.5 percent. They fell with the price of crude oil, which lost 87 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $45.08 per barrel. Brent crude fell $1.01 to $46.60 a barrel in London.

TECH LEADERS: Technology stocks rose the most, 0.7 percent. Japanese tech company SoftBank Group is buying Britain's ARM Holdings for 24.3 billion pounds ($32 billion) in the first big acquisition announced since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. SoftBank also owns Sprint.

BETTER (THAN EXPECTED) BANKS: Financial stocks rose after Bank of America reported earnings that were better than analysts were expected. Banks have been struggling with low interest rates, which limit the profits they can make from making loans. Bank of America nevertheless reported a smaller decline in earnings than analysts forecast, due in part to higher trading revenue and cost cuts.

TURKEY'S COUP: Friday's failed coup attempt in Turkey jolted currency markets initially, but stock markets around the world were relatively calm in their first opportunity for trading since. France's CAC 40 fell 0.6 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.4 percent and South Korea's Kospi index rose 0.2 percent. Japan's stock market was closed for a holiday.

THE SAFETY TRADE: The traditional hiding spots investors have flocked to when scared were mixed. The price of gold was up 0.3 percent to $1,332 per ounce, but U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves in the opposite direction of its price, rose to 1.58 percent from 1.55 percent late Friday.

EARNINGS RUNWAY: A slew of companies are scheduled to report their quarterly earnings this week, including nearly a fifth of the S&P 500 index. Analysts have dim expectations, with forecasts for a fourth consecutive decline in earnings. But many investors will be paying more attention to what companies have to say about upcoming earnings trends than how they did during the spring.

CHINA'S OUTLOOK: Growth in the world's second-largest economy held steady at 6.7 percent over a year earlier in the second quarter of the year, supported by better-than-expected factory output and retail sales. That prompted suggestions that efforts to reverse a steady decline in growth are gaining traction, though some analysts warned the second half might be more challenging.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 105.76 yen from 105.53 yen late Friday. The euro edged up to $1.1067 from $1.1063. The pound rose to $1.3255 from $1.3206.

(KA)