NEW YORK -- U.S. stock indexes drifted higher Tuesday as Wall Street's big rally eased off the accelerator.
The S&P 500 rose 11.90 points, or 0.4%, to 3,306.51 after flipping between small gains and losses throughout the day. It's the mildest move for the index in two weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 164.07 points, or 0.6%, to 26,828.47, and the Nasdaq composite added 38.37, or 0.35%, to close at another record, 10,941.17.
Stock indexes are hanging at or close to their record highs after clawing back from their sell-off earlier in the year. The S&P 500 is within 2.4% of its record high set in February. But caution is still prevalent across other markets: Gold rose to another record Tuesday, while Treasury yields sank as investors sought safety.
Within the stock market, energy companies had the biggest gains after the price of oil rose. But two in five S&P 500 stocks were lower after a mixed set of earnings reports.
On the winning end was Take-Two Interactive Software, which rose 5.9%. The maker of video games reported a profit for the spring that was almost double year-ago levels as customers stuck at home played Grand Theft Auto and other games instead of going outside.
On the opposite end was insurer American International Group. AIG fell 7.5% for one of the larger losses in the S&P 500 even though it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected. Some analysts cited several unusual items that clouded its report, such as coronavirus-related losses, which make it difficult to extrapolate how AIG's profits will run from here.
In Washington, meanwhile, negotiations at the Capitol on an economic-relief package are ongoing. But multiple obstacles remain before a deal can be struck, one that investors say is crucial for propping up the economy in its weakened state.
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A weekly $600 in federal unemployment benefits has expired, threatening to crunch the finances of millions of out-of-work Americans. Recent data reports have shown an uptick in the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits after a resurgence of coronavirus cases pushed some states to reimpose restrictions on businesses. Economists expect a report on Friday to show that U.S. employers added 1.8 million jobs last month, which would be welcome growth but also a slowdown from June.
The Federal Reserve said last week that it will keep interest rates at their record-low levels, as it continues to pump huge amounts of aid into the economy. Now, investors are waiting for Congress to do the same.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 0.50% from 0.56% late Monday. It tends to move with investors' expectations for the economy and inflation.
"The dichotomy of low and falling bond yields with ebullient risk asset markets is confusing, and investors are becoming increasingly nervous as yields grind lower," Northern Trust Wealth Management Chief Investment Officer Katie Nixon said in a commentary.
Gold has been another investment that has moved strongly because of low interest rates and worries about the global economy. Gold for delivery in December rose $34.70 to settle at $2,021 per ounce.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 69 cents to settle at $41.70 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 28 cents to $44.43 a barrel.
Information for this article was contributed by Elaine Kurtenbach of The Associated Press.