Stocks mostly slip, but Dow hits a new record high

U.S. stocks mostly slipped Wednesday after their recent record-setting run. Energy companies stumbled, but basic materials makers rose as investors hoped two large deals would win approval from regulators.

While energy stocks fell with the price of oil, most other sectors didn’t make big moves. Technology companies eked out a small gain; they have risen every day this month to reach their highest mark since 2000. DuPont and Dow Chemical rose after Reuters reported that European officials could approve their merger soon. The Dow Jones industrial average notched its ninth straight gain.

After an extended streak of gains, investors didn’t make many big moves. They spent most of the day waiting for the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting three weeks ago, but those minutes contained few surprises. Bond prices rose and yields slipped.

Kate Warne, an investment strategist for Edward Jones, said Fed decision-makers are also waiting to learn more about the Trump administration’s policy proposals and Congress’ reaction to them. That might take a few months. Meanwhile, investors too will wait.

“They want to see the data, they want to see more on inflation, and they would like more certainty about any fiscal policy changes,” Warne said.

The Dow average rose 32.60 points, or 0.2%, to 20,775.60. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 2.56 points, or 0.1%, to 2,362.82. The Nasdaq composite fell 5.32 points, or 0.1%, to 5,860.63. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks slid 6.49 points, or 0.5%, to 1,403.86. All four indexes closed at record highs Tuesday.

More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

DuPont climbed 3.4% to $79.80 and Dow Chemical rose 4% to $63.67. Reuters reported that regulators in the European Union are close to approving their $62-billion combination. Antitrust officials in the U.S. and elsewhere would still have to approve that deal.

Investors appeared to grow more optimistic about a second deal in the chemicals industry: Shares of Monsanto, which has accepted a $57-billion offer from Bayer but is also waiting for regulatory approval, rose 0.7% to $111.38.

The minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting showed that officials discussed the importance of raising their primary interest rate soon, especially if the economy stays strong. Some Fed officials were worried that if interest rates stay too low, the expanding economy could cause inflation to rise too fast.

Read more: Fed minutes show ‘considerable uncertainty’ about Trump’s fiscal policies »

Investors don’t generally expect the Fed to raise interest rates at its next meeting in March. But bond prices changed course, turning higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.41% from Tuesday’s 2.43%.

Energy companies traded lower as benchmark U.S. crude fell 74 cents, or 1.4%, to $53.59 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the standard for pricing international oils, fell 34 cents to $55.84 a barrel in London.

Oil and gas company Concho Resources slid 6.8% to $131.70 after a weak fourth-quarter report. Newfield Exploration declined 8% to $39.07 as analysts expressed concerns about its forecasts for the current year.

Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb rose 1% to $55.35 after the Wall Street Journal reported that billionaire investor Carl Icahn bought a stake in the company. Icahn has not confirmed his investment. Just a day earlier, Bristol-Myers reached a deal with another activist investor, Jana Partners. It will add three new directors to its board and spend $2 billion to buy back stock. Bristol-Myers stock traded at $75 in early August but plunged as investors worried that its lung cancer drug Opdivo will lose sales to other treatments.

Food and consumer products company Unilever rose 4.6% to $46.93 after it said it will quickly review its options to find ways to increase value for shareholders. Kraft Heinz went public Friday with an offer to buy the company for $143 billion, but it withdrew that offer over the weekend after Unilever said the offer wasn’t big enough. Unilever shares skidded 7.5% on Tuesday.

Technology companies wavered but finished with a small gain thanks to Facebook, which jumped 1.8% to $136.12. The S&P 500’s technology index has gained ground every day in February and is up 10% this year. That index is at its highest level since July 2000, four months after the peak of the dot-com boom.

The dollar slipped to 113.12 yen from 113.58 yen. The euro rose to $1.0568 from $1.0547.

Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.51 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.63 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.59 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $5.60 to $1,233.30 an ounce. Silver fell 5 cents to $17.95 an ounce. Copper fell 1 cent to $2.73 a pound.

Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% and Germany’s DAX added 0.3%. In France, the CAC 40 picked up 0.1%. The Japanese Nikkei 225 finished unchanged, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2% and The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 1%.

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UPDATES:

2:35 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comment.

1:15 p.m.: This article was updated with the close of markets.

9 a.m.: This article was updated with market prices and context.

This article was originally published at 6:50 a.m.