NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have extended their gains on Wall Street as investors remain optimistic that the U.S. and China will make more progress in resolving their trade dispute. Energy companies, retailers and industrial companies led the market higher today. The S&P 500 rose 8 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,753. The Dow climbed 117 points, or 0.5 percent, to 25,543. And the Nasdaq edged up 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,420.
UNDATED (AP) — Crude oil futures prices have ended higher on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The near-month contract for the benchmark grade rose 80 cents today, closing at $53.90 a barrel.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal budget deficit in December totaled $13.5 billion, helping to push the deficit for the first three months of this budget year up 41.8 percent over the imbalance for the same period the previous year. The Treasury Department says the deficit from October through December totals $318.9 billion, up from a deficit of $225 billion for the previous budget year. Meanwhile, the government's debt has topped $22 trillion for the first time.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic lawmakers challenged top executives of T-Mobile and Sprint over their pledge not to raise prices for wireless services or hurt competition if their $26.5 billion merger goes through. At a hearing by a House committee today, the two executives defended the deal, which would combine the nation's third- and fourth-largest wireless companies and create a behemoth about the size of industry giants Verizon and AT&T.
MILAN (AP) — Italy's state railway has confirmed it is in talks with Delta Air Lines and EasyJet as possible industrial partners in relaunching the troubled Alitalia airline. The state railway was given a lead role in taking over Alitalia, which struggled amid competition from low-cost carriers and has failed to come up with a sustainable plan to establish Italy's flagship airline as a long-haul player.
