NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are slightly higher as trading gets off to a quiet start heading into the Christmas holiday weekend. Health care stocks are making small gains and companies that make basic materials are trading slightly lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average added 7 points to 19,926 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1 point to 2,262. The Nasdaq composite gained 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,451.
Stocks have fallen the last two days, their first losing streak in December. The blue-chip Dow average hadn’t suffered a two-day losing streak since Nov. 4, the end of a seven-day skid that led into the presidential election.
OUT OF UNIFORM: Cintas, a uniform rental company, slipped after its second-quarter profit fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts. The stock lost $6.77, or 5.6 percent, to $113.32.
GROUNDED? Lockheed Martin skidded after coming under renewed criticism on Twitter by President-elect Donald Trump. Trump said Lockheed’s F-35 fighter jet costs too much and that he has asked Boeing to “price-out” a comparable F-18 jet. Trump complained earlier this month about the costs of the F-35, and he also criticized Boeing for the cost of the next Air Force One. Lockheed gave up $4.41, or 1.7 percent, to $238.39.
BANK PROBES: Deutsche Bank agreed to pay the U.S. government $7.2 billion and Credit Suisse will pay $5.3 billion to settle civil claims over mortgage-backed securities they sold. The companies’ deal with the Justice Department isn’t final, but it includes both a fine and compensation for borrowers. Deutsche Bank rose 17 cents to $18.70 and Credit Suisse lost 15 cents, or 1 percent, to $14.78.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 25 cents to $52.70 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 18 cents to $54.87 in London.
CURRENCY: The dollar slid to 117.40 yen from 117.60 yen. The euro held steady at $1.0433.
BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.54 percent from 2.55 percent.
ASIA’S DAY: France’s CAC-40 gained 0.1 percent and Germany’s DAX rose 0.1 percent. London’s FTSE 100 was down 2 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 0.3 percent and Seoul’s Kospi declined a fraction of a point. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay