U.S. Stocks Muted After Notching Records

Rallying energy shares pushed U.S. stock indexes toward fresh highs Monday.

A recovery in commodity prices, pickup in growth across economies around the world and a weaker dollar have helped major indexes climb this year, investors and analysts say.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite posted records together Friday and were on track to repeat the feat Monday.

"The question is whether valuations are already reflecting all of the good news -- whether it's economic growth or tax reform -- and then trying to determine where that leaves us with stocks," said Dan Miller, director of equities at GW&K Investment Management.

The Dow industrials rose 8 points, or less than 0.1%, to 23548. The S&P 500 added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2%.

Energy shares in the S&P 500 jumped, on track for their biggest one-day gain since July, as oil prices rallied.

Chesapeake Energy climbed 8.8%, while Apache rose 5.8%. U.S. crude added 2.6% to $57.07 a barrel, with several analysts attributing the move to a wave of arrests in Saudi Arabia that raised concerns of a possible disruption to oil flows.

Meanwhile, corporate news drove swings in other sectors.

Qualcomm shares rose 0.9% after Broadcom launched a takeover bid for the chip maker in a deal valued at $100 billion. Broadcom shares edged down 0.3%.

Sprint shed 10% and T-Mobile fell 5.6% after the two companies officially called off their merger Saturday, putting an end to a deal that would have combined the No. 3 and No. 4 wireless carriers in the U.S.

Government bonds ticked up Monday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note recently at 2.322%, according to Tradeweb, compared with 2.334% on Friday. Yields fall as bond prices rise.

Policy changes in Washington could help push stocks and bond yields higher, some analysts said. The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to turn its attention to tax overhaul this week, with the aim of passing a proposed bill before Christmas.

"In terms of the impact on equity markets, we think it might put something like another 5% on earnings, but you'd expect interest rates to rise maybe a little bit faster," said Mike Bell, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.1%, buoyed by gains in shares of basic resources companies.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by as much as 1.6% earlier in the session, before reversing losses to close down less than 0.1%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average reversed early gains as traders returned after a three-day weekend. The index closed up less than 0.1%.

The yen pared early sharp declines against the U.S. dollar, when Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank would be patient about easing. The yen was last up 0.2% against the dollar.

Ese Erheriene contributed to this article.

Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com and Mike Bird at Mike.Bird@wsj.com

Rallying energy shares pushed U.S. stock indexes to another set of records.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite posted fresh highs together Monday for the 26th time this year.

A recovery in commodity prices, a pickup in growth across economies around the world and a weaker dollar have helped major indexes climb double-digit percentages this year, investors and analysts say. Some also said they would be watching for signs of progress on a Republican tax bill, which was unveiled last week.

"The question is whether valuations are already reflecting all of the good news -- whether it's economic growth or tax reform -- and then trying to determine where that leaves us with stocks," said Dan Miller, director of equities at GW&K Investment Management.

The Dow industrials rose 9.23 points, or less than 0.1%, to 23548.42. The S&P 500 added 3.29 points, or 0.1%, to 2591.13 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 22 points, or 0.3%, to 6786.44.

Energy shares in the S&P 500 jumped 2.2%, posting their second-biggest one-day percentage gain of the year. Chesapeake Energy climbed 44 cents, or 12%, to $4.18, leading gains in the sector.

U.S. crude for December delivery added 3.1% to $57.35 a barrel Monday -- its highest settlement since June 2015 -- with several analysts attributing the move to a wave of arrests in Saudi Arabia that raised concerns of a possible disruption to oil flows.

Despite the recent rebound in oil prices, energy shares in the S&P 500 are still lagging behind. The sector is down 6.3% so far this year, making it the second-biggest decliner in the S&P 500 after telecom.

Meanwhile, corporate news drove swings in other areas of the stock market.

Qualcomm shares rose 71 cents, or 1.1%, to 62.52 after Broadcom launched a $105 billion takeover bid for the chip maker. Broadcom shares jumped 3.89, or 1.4%, to 277.52.

Intel rose 63 cents, or 1.4%, to 46.70 and Advanced Micro Devices jumped 81 cents, or 7.3%, to 11.93 after The Wall Street Journal reported the two companies were teaming up to battle a common competitor, Nvidia.

Sprint shed 77 cents, or 12%, to 5.90 and T-Mobile US fell 3.37, or 5.7%, to 55.54 after the two companies officially called off their merger Saturday, putting an end to a deal that would have combined the No. 3 and No. 4 wireless carriers in the U.S.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.1%, buoyed by gains in shares of basic resources and technology companies.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average moved off early gains as traders returned after a three-day weekend. The index closed up less than 0.1%.

Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com and Mike Bird at Mike.Bird@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 06, 2017 17:46 ET (22:46 GMT)