US stocks edge toward their records after oil prices ease a bit

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are holding relatively steady on Monday following the latest yo-yo moves for oil prices.

The S&P 500 ticked up by 0.3% and pulled within 0.7% of its all-time high set during the summer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 135 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5% and was on track to set its own record.

The moves were sharper in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude swung between $100 and $103 in the morning. It was most recently at $101.94, down 0.3%.

Oil prices have been shaky because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global crude industry to return to normal. That in turn has helped push up yields in the bond market, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield edged up to 5.29% from 5.28% late Friday. It’s near its highest level since 2002.

High yields can slow the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money, while also making investors feel less willing to pay high prices for stocks and other investments.

Another factor that's been pushing up yields is the strength of the U.S. economy, which grew during the spring because of continued spending by businesses on AI data centers. U.S. consumers also keep spending and driving the economy, even though they say they're getting more frustrated by the high inflation that's squeezing their finances.

A report on Monday gave a mixed update on the strength of the U.S. economy. It said that activity for real estate, transportation, finance and other businesses in the services industries grew in September for a 27th straight month. But the growth was not quite as strong as economists expected.

The report from the Institute for Supply Management also said that prices U.S. services businesses are paying for materials and services grew at a faster rate, which could be a discouraging signal for upcoming inflation for everyone.

The general expectation on Wall Street is that the Federal Reserve will hike its main interest rate at least once by the end of the year in hopes of reining in the fast increases for the cost of living. The Fed raised its federal funds rate last month for the first time in three years.

On Wall Street, a couple buyout announcements helped support stocks.

RXO jumped 22.5% after C.H. Robinson Worldwide said it would buy the truck brokerage business in a deal where RXO investors could get $30.25 in cash for each of their shares. C.H. Robinson fell 11.9% for the largest loss in the S&P 500.

PTC leaped 34.9% for the biggest gain in the index after Schneider Electric of France said it would pay $205 in cash for each of the software company’s shares in a deal valuing it at about $22.6 billion.

In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 fell 1.1% for one of the world’s bigger losses. Worries have been rising about the French government’s big debt and its strained budget.