S&P Rallies Near End to Set New Record

Stocks fell slightly on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 struggling to reach the all-time high set a month ago, as traders weigh headwinds on the global trade and inflation fronts.The Dow Jones Industrials nosed ahead 10.26 points at 44,556.34The much-broader index gained 14.95 points to 6,129.58The tech-heavy NASDAQ tacked on 14.49 points to 20,041.26. Energy was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, rising 1.9%. Halliburton and Valero Energy led the advance. Tech stocks also ticked higher.That said, pullbacks of more than 1% in consumer discretionary and communication services weighed on the broader market. Meta Platforms lost 3%, while Amazon dropped 2%.Wall Street is coming off a winning week for the major averages. The Dow gained roughly 0.6% last week, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.5%. The NASDAQ rose 2.6%.The 30-stock Dow and the NASDAQ are about 1% off their recent records, while the S&P 500 is just 0.2% off its own milestone.Much of last week’s advance came Thursday after President Donald Trump’s plan for reciprocal tariffs on countries with levies on U.S. goods soothed investors who worried they would be more stringent.Stocks have been choppy to start the year but, even with ongoing concerns around trade and inflation, a look at the major averages show that they are not too far off their recent highs as investors scan for a catalyst for the next leg higher.Prices for the 10-year Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 4.55% from Friday’s 4.48%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Oil prices grabbed $1.03 to $71.77 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold popped $49.80 an ounce to $2,950.50 U.S.