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NEW YORK / AP
More gains in Goldman Sachs and Chevron helped pull the Dow Jones industrial average to another record high even as other indexes were flat to lower in early trading on Thursday. Ford and General Motors are rising after they announced strong sales in November. Technology companies and companies that pay big dividends are trading lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow gained 67 points, or 0.4 percent, to 19,190 as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, above the record it set last week. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell a fraction to 2,197. The Nasdaq composite fell 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,3047 as technology companies like Facebook and Yahoo slipped.
ENERGY: Oil prices continued to rise and reached their highest since mid-October. Benchmark U.S. crude picked up $1.28, or 2.6 percent, to $50.72 a barrel in New York after it jumped 9.3 percent on Wednesday. Brent crude, the standard for pricing international oils, added $1.39, or 2.7 percent, to $53.23 a barrel in London. ConocoPhillips rose 78 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $49.30 and Chevron gained $1.99, or 1.8 percent, to $113.5.
The price of oil had soared on Wednesday after the members of OPEC, which collectively produce more than one-third of the world’s oil, agreed to cut production starting in January. The price of oil has mostly traded between $40 and $50 a barrel since early April. It dipped as low as $26 a barrel in February.
BANKS: Bond prices continued to fall. That yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.45 percent from 2.38 percent, its highest since July 2015. That sent bank stocks higher because higher bond yields are linked to higher interest rates, which allow banks to make more money from lending. Bank of America climbed 38 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $21.49 and JPMorgan Chase picked up $1.28, or 1.6 percent, to $81.45.
DOLLAR DOWN: Discount store chain Dollar General said its business was hurting by falling prices for some goods as well as cuts in government benefits that help people with low incomes buy food. The company’s results fell short of analyst estimates and its shares lost $4.81, or 6.2 percent, to $72.47. Dollar General reached all-time highs this summer but has fallen after two weak quarterly reports.
FILTER DEAL: Parker-Hannifin, which makes motion and control products, said it will pay about $4 billion for Clarcor, a company that makes mobile, industrial and environmental filtration products. That values Clarcor at $83 a share. Its stock jumped $12.01, or 17 percent, to $82.46 while Parker-Hannifin rose $3.57, or 2.6 percent, to $142.50.
IN THE FAST LANE: Automakers were reporting their monthly sales on Thursday. Ford rose 41 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $12.37 and General Motors climbed 74 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $35.27 after both disclosed stronger sales growth than analysts expected.
CURRENCIES: After a big gain on Wednesday, the dollar rose to 114.60 yen from 114.22 yen. The euro rose to $1.0603 from $1.0599.
OVERSEAS: Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1.3 percent and the CAC 40 in France shed 0.3 percent. Germany’s DAX fell 0.8 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1 percent and the Kospi of South Korea was little changed. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.4 percent.