Major U.S. stock indexes eked out modest gains on Monday, extending the market’s winning streak into a fourth day.
Stocks wavered into the red at times before steadying in the late afternoon. The price of oil also veered lower at times, but ended higher.
Investors had their eye on the latest batch of company-deal news and new data on housing that sent homebuilders broadly lower. Monday’s action builds on the market’s five-week string of gains and suggests an improved outlook by investors since the market’s rocky start to 2016. Worries about the global economy prompted the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of interest rate increases this year.
“Investors have really come to terms with the fact that recession risks are receding in the U.S., and that certainly was helped by the Fed action last week,” said Mike Baele, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.57 points, or 0.12 percent, to 17,623.87. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 2.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,051.60. The Nasdaq composite gained 13.23 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,808.87.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide climbed $3.62 to $84.19. Its proposed buyout by Marriott International, which could be contested by China’s Anbang, would create the world’s biggest hotel company. That likely weighed on fellow hotel operator Wyndham Worldwide, which slid $3.72 to $77.07.
Embattled drug company Valeant Pharmaceuticals climbed as investors cheered a boardroom shake-up that includes plans to replace CEO Michael Pearson and the addition of activist investor Bill Ackman to the board. The stock, which has slid 71.5 percent this year, gained $2 to $28.98.
Oil prices also recovered after dipping earlier in the day. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 47 cents to close at $39.91 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, gained 34 cents to close at $41.54 a barrel in London.
Several energy companies slumped as natural gas lost 8 cents to close at $1.83 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Williams Cos. shed 80 cents to $17.35, while Cabot Oil & Gas slid 98 cents to $21.79. Natural gas transport and storage company Oneok fell $1.13 to $29.69.
