Mining, Chemicals Lead Stocks Higher
Mining, Chemicals Lead Stocks Higher
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are rising Monday morning as energy companies trade higher with the price of oil. Chemical and mining companies are making the largest gains. Stocks have been setting records recently, but they've traded in an up and down pattern for the last few days.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 75 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,651 as of 10:18 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,191. The Nasdaq composite added 26 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,259.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 58 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $45.07 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 62 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $47.59 a barrel in London. After a steep slide in late July, the price of U.S. crude gained 6.4 percent last week.
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Drilling rig operator Transocean added 39 cents, or 4 percent, to $10.29. National Oilwell Varco picked up 98 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $34.79 and ConocoPhillips rose 48 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $41.86.
RETAIL RESULTS: Second-quarter earnings are almost complete, and this week more than 20 retailers will report their results. Late last week department stores Macy's, Nordstrom and Kohl's all posted their latest results. Investors were pleased with the companies' performance and with the way they are trying to adjust to ever-growing online competition.
LyondellBasell Industries rose $1.79, or 2.4 percent, to $77.12 and mining and energy company Freeport-McMoRan climbed 34 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $12.16. Aluminum producer Alcoa gained 18 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $10.35.
WEAK START: Phone companies and utilities lagged the market. Southern Co. dipped 23 cents to $52.12 and AT&T lost 2 cents to $43.26.
CURRENCIES: Bond prices fell and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.54 percent from 1.51 percent. The dollar fell to 101.17 yen from 101.27 yen and the euro rose to $1.1188 from $1.1164.
JAPAN STAGNATES: Japan's economy grew at a lower-than-forecast 0.2 percent pace in the April-June quarter, as private demand and exports remained weak. That could push the Bank of Japan to take additional steps to stimulate the national economy. The bank approved a new stimulus package earlier this month, but that wasn't enough to please investors.
OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX was up 0.2 percent and the CAC 40 of France dipped 0.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 edged 0.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7 percent.
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