Stock indexes rise a little, but automakers drop

Despite strong results from industrial companies, U.S. stocks couldn’t get any momentum going Tuesday after automakers said their sales are shrinking.

Engine maker Cummins lifted manufacturers and other industrial companies after reporting solid first-quarter earnings. A late slump took the price of oil to its lowest price in almost six months. Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler all fell after they said sales declined in April.

Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Financial Partners, said auto sales have weakened because lenders are growing a bit hesitant to make loans to help people buy cars.

“It’s more a story specific to the auto sector as opposed to a slowdown in consumer spending,” he said.

Thanks to an upturn in the last few minutes of trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed up 2.84 points, or 0.1%, to 2,391.17. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.43 points, or 0.2%, to 20,949.89. The Nasdaq composite set another record, picking up 3.76 points, or 0.1%, to close at 6,095.37. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks sank 8 points, or 0.6%, to 1,399.36.

The six largest automakers in the U.S. all said their sales fell in April. Vehicle sales have set records the last few years, and analysts are worried that the streak is ending and that car companies are relying too much on discounts and incentives to keep their sales high.

Ford shares dropped 4.4% to $10.92, GM slid 2.9% to $33.20, and Fiat Chrysler skidded 4.3% to $10.92. Car retailers, rental companies and parts suppliers slipped as well.

Industrial companies made some of the biggest gains. Cummins reported a far bigger profit and better sales than analysts expected, and its stock climbed 6.1% to $160.56. The company said demand from construction and mining sales grew compared with the same period last year, but truck production in North America fell.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.18, or 2.4%, to $47.66 a barrel. That’s its lowest price since mid-November. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $1.06, or 2.1%, to $50.46 a barrel in London.

Healthcare stocks shook off an early loss. Merck climbed after it reported strong sales of newer medications including its cancer drug Keytruda and hepatitis C drug Zepatier, and its stock gained 32 cents to $62.70.

Hospital chain Tenet Healthcare soared 21.6% to $18.66 after it agreed to sell three hospitals to HCA Holdings for $725 million and said it will rejoin insurer Humana’s network.

Molina Healthcare leaped 17.6% to $59.75 after the Long Beach insurer fired its president and chief executive, J. Mario Molina, and its chief financial officer, John Molina, citing the company’s poor financial performance. The Medicaid administrator was founded by their father, David Molina, who died in 1996.

Technology stocks rose further. The S&P 500’s technology index, which includes 69 major companies, is at its highest levels since March 2000, the peak of the dot-com boom. However, it’s still well below the records it set back then.

Apple rose 93 cents to $147.51 during regular trading, but it fell more than 2% in aftermarket trading after the company reported results that included slightly disappointing quarterly iPhone sales. Its guidance also wasn’t as strong as investors hoped.

Consumer products companies slipped. Drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits manager CVS Health fell 3.6% to $79 and agricultural company Archer-Daniels-Midland slid 8.9% to $41.67 after their respective earnings reports.

Angie’s List soared 61.5% to $9.51 after the consumer reviews website agreed to be bought by media company IAC/InterActiveCorp. IAC/InterActive jumped 14.3% to $96.24.

IAC/InterActive wants to combine Angie’s List with its HomeAdvisor.com business, which offers resources for home repair and improvement projects. The company will be called ANGI Homeservices.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.28% from 2.32%.

Wholesale gasoline slipped 1 cent to $1.51 a gallon. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.47 a gallon. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $3.20 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $1.50 to $1,257 an ounce. Silver fell 1 cent to $16.83 an ounce. Copper fell 3 cents to $2.64 a pound.

The dollar rose to 112 yen from 111.83 yen. The euro rose to $1.0928 from $1.0906.

In Greece the Athex composite jumped 3.1% after the country and its creditors agreed Greece should make another round of pension cuts in 2019 and commit to a budget target when its current bailout program ends next year. That deal will restart bailout loan payments to Greece, meaning the country won’t face default — which could have touched off another eurozone crisis. Other European stocks also rallied. The CAC 40 in France rose 0.7%. The FTSE 100 index in Britain and the DAX in Germany each rose 0.6%.

The Japanese Nikkei 225 index and South Korea’s Kospi each gained 0.7%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.3%.

UPDATES:

3:10 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.

1:20 p.m.: This article was updated with the close of markets.

This article was originally published at 8:10 a.m.