UNDATED (AP) — Stocks have ended broadly higher on Wall Street, giving the S&P 500 index its best monthly gain since 2015. A series of strong earnings helped power the monthlong rally, which followed a dismal December. The S&P 500 added 23 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 2,704. The Dow edged down 15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 24,999 but the Nasdaq gained 98 points, or 1.4 percent, to 7,281. The Russell 2000 picked up 12 points, or 0.8 percent, to end up at 1,499.
UNDATED (AP) — Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 0.8 percent to settle at $53.79 per barrel in New York today. Meanwhile, Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 0.4 percent to close at $61.89 per barrel in London. In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline fell 1.4 percent to $1.36 a gallon. Heating oil slid 1 percent to $1.88 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 1.4 percent to $2.81 per 1,000 cubic feet.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (LYT'-hy-zur) says "substantial progress" has been made as American and Chinese negotiators wind up two days of trade talks in Washington. The two sides are trying to make progress toward a deal by a March 1 deadline. That's when U.S. tariffs against Chinese goods are scheduled to bump up to 25 percent from 10 percent.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers likely kept adding jobs at a healthy pace in January even in the face of threats ranging from weakening global growth to the trade war with China to the partial shutdown of the government. On Friday, the Labor Department will issue the monthly employment report. Economists forecast that employers added 165,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate remained at a low 3.9 percent, according to data provider FactSet.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, says he is disappointed with the decision by appliance maker Electrolux to close its factory there. The Swedish company says it's stopping production at its Memphis factory within two years while investing $250 million in a separate facility in Springfield, Tennessee. Memphis, Shelby County and Tennessee committed about $150 million in financial incentives to Electrolux to build the factory, which opened in 2014.
