US stocks edge further from their record after oil prices rise

stocks slipped further from their record heights after rising oil prices cranked up the pressure on inflation and financial markets. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Monday but remains near its all-time high set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.3%.

Wall Street is near records in large part because profits are booming for big U.S. companies, and investors are waiting for the latest updates from the nation’s biggest retailers coming later this week. In the meantime, rising oil prices sent yields upward in the bond market.

Stocks slipped in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEWYORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are edging further from their record heights on Monday, ahead of a week where profit reports from the nation’s biggest retailers could give a hint about how shoppers are dealing with high inflation and a slowing job market.The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% but remains near its all-time high set Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 284 points, or 0.5%, as of 2 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower.Wall Street has run to records in large part because profits are booming for U.S. Those in the S&P 500 index are on track to deliver growth of roughly 50% for earnings per share in the spring from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

That’s much better than analysts expected and would be the best since five years ago, when the economy was erupting out of the chasm created by the COVID pandemic.Nearly all the companies in the S&P 500 have turned in their profit reports for the spring. Still to come are big retailers, including reports this week from Home Depot, Target and Walmart.They’re facing pressure. Their customers’ incomes may be turning iffier after U.S.

employers surprisingly cut more jobs last month than they added. At the same time, their customers are continuing to see bills rise quickly as inflation remains much higher than anyone would like.A report last week said that shoppers surprisingly spent less at U.S. retailers last month than in June, and CEOs for retailers could give color this week on what they’re seeing.In the meantime, the wait continues for what the war with Iran will do with oil prices.