US stocks at record highs as oil jumps

The U.K.’s Brexit vote rocked stock indexes in the US and overseas in late June, so Wall Street’s ability to hit all-time highs less than two months later is impressive.

Investors were also watching oil prices as US crude rose more than 1.5 percent to about $45 a barrel in uneven trade.

The Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq composite index all finished Monday at new high closes, extending a run they have been on in recent weeks.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 35 points, or 0.7%, to 5,268.

The S&P 500.SPX was up 6.06 points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,190.11.

The Dow and S&P 500 have eased from record highs as tepid data dampened investor confidence in the economy’s expansion, while the Nasdaq inched up to a second straight record high close. Mid-America’s shares fell 5.1 percent.

The Philadelphia semiconductor index, up 1.4%, touched a 16-year high, while the Nasdaq Biotech Index was up 0.9%.

The S&P 500 materials index jumped 1.04 percent, with all its components in the black and led by a 3 percent rise in LyondellBasell.

The Federal Reserve will release on Wednesday minutes of its July meeting that could provide clues to the Usa central bank’s plans on interest rates and its view on the health of the economy.

The dollar index.DXY, which tracks the greenback against six major world rivals, fell 0.1 percent to 95.624. Aluminum producer Alcoa gained 32 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $10.50. Valeant (VRX.N) rose 5.5 percent to $26.29 after Mizuho upgraded the stock to “neutral” from “underperform”.

MONEY FLOW: Water and wastewater treatment company Xylem announced a $1.7 billion deal for Sensus, a company that provides smart meters, network technology, and analytics used by water, electric and gas industries. Copper futures added 0.42 percent to $2.1605. The price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, rose 1.2% to $47.52.

“Weakness in manufacturing doesn’t set a solid trajectory of improvement for the remaining four months of the year, nor a positive tone for those with heightened expectations ahead of the September FOMC meeting”, said Lindsey M. Piegza, chief economist with Stifel Economics, in an e-mailed note.

WEAK START: Phone companies and utilities lagged the market. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both pared 0.2%, while South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.22% at 9:51 p.m. EDT.