Wall Street ticks higher as technology stocks lead the way | Business

Big Tech stocks ticked higher to lead the way. Amazon added 1.1% following its 5.1% drop last week, and Microsoft rose 0.6% to recover some of its 1.2% decline. While their moves were modest, they were still two of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500 Monday because they’re two of Wall Street’s most valuable stocks.

On the losing end of the market were companies in the oil business, which were hurt by slumping crude prices. Drops of 2.6% for Exxon Mobil and 2.5% for Chevron were two of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500.

This week’s highlight is scheduled to arrive on Friday, when a report will be due about how many jobs U.S. employers created and destroyed last month. The hope is that it will be balanced enough to keep the Federal Reserve on track to continue cutting interest rates.

The Fed just delivered its first cut of the year, and officials have penciled in more through the end of next year. That’s critical for investors because U.S. stocks have shot to records from a low in April in large part because of expectations for several cuts from the Fed. Easier rates can give the job market a boost and make investors more willing to pay high prices for stocks and other investments.

If Friday’s job numbers prove too strong, they could make the Fed less willing to cut rates. That could hurt stocks, which already face criticism that they’ve become too expensive following their big rally. If the job numbers are too weak, they could mean a recession that would hurt stock prices on its own.

One wild card may pop up in the interim: The U.S. government is nearing a deadline that could result in its shutdown.

The United States has already had many such shutdowns in the past, which have caused only minimal waves for the U.S. stock market and for the economy. But another shutdown could delay the collection and release of economic data, such as on jobs and inflation. Without those reports, increasing uncertainty on Wall Street could make markets more twitchy.

“We believe that a shutdown will have only a small and transitory economic impact, but it may spur some financial market volatility,” according to Jennifer Timmerman, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

On Wall Street, Electronic Arts climbed 4.5% after the video game maker confirmed rumors of a $55 billion buyout. A group of investors will pay $210 in cash for each share of EA, and they are calling it history’s largest all-cash deal to take a business private.

Stocks in the marijuana-related business soared after President Donald Trump posted a video to his social media network calling hemp-derived CBD a “game changer” in improving the quality of life for seniors. Tilray Brands jumped 60.9%, and Canada’s Canopy Growth rose 17% in Toronto.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 17.51 points to 6,661.21. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 68.78 to 46,316.07, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 107.09 to 22,591.15.

In stock markets abroad, indexes mostly rose in Europe and Asia.

The FTSE 100 in London added 0.2% as GSK climbed 2.2% after the pharmaceutical giant said CEO Emma Walmsley will step down at the end of the year. Luke Miels, currently GSK’s chief commercial officer, will replace the 56-year-old Walmsley, who was the first woman to lead a major pharmaceutical company

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.9%, and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% for two of the world’s bigger moves.

Oil prices slumped more than 3%. Analysts cited reports that oil-producing nations in the OPEC+ group might raise their production limits next month, which added to the notion that too much supply is washing around the world.

Gold topped $3,850 per ounce to continue its record-breaking run amid expectations for cuts to interest rates by the Fed, along with worries about inflation and the mountains of debt that governments are carrying worldwide.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.14% from 4.20% late Friday.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.