NEW YORK - Mining companies and banks helped the stock market overcome some disappointing quarterly performances Monday.
McDonald’s fell after it reported lower global sales and warned of a tough year ahead. Media company Gannett dropped after its revenue fell short of financial analysts’ expectations.
But gold and copper prices helped mining companies, and that nudged the market to another all-time high.
The Dow Jones industrial rose 1.81 points, or 0.01 percent, to 15,545.55. The Nasdaq composite climbed 12.77 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,600.39.
The S&P 500 index rose 3.44 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,695.53 on Monday. The index is at an all-time high, though trading volumes were lower than average.
Five of the 10 industry group in the S&P 500 rose. Gains were led by financial companies, which have posted some of the strongest earning reports for the quarter so far, and are expected to report average earnings growth of 23 percent for the period. Bank of America added 17 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $14.92.
Investors are looking ahead at a busy week of corporate earnings. More than 150 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index are reporting quarterly earnings over the next four days.
For the most part, corporations have reported results that have beaten analysts’ expectations, though there have been some big letdowns. On Friday, Microsoft plunged after it reported declining revenue and a big write-off on its new tablet computer. Coca-Cola slumped last Tuesday after the company said it sold less soda in North America.
“Earnings are not stellar,” said Brad Reynolds, chief investment officer at investment adviser LJPR. “It just seems that the market is OK with that.”
Investors were more than OK with gold Monday. Its price climbed above $1,300 for first time in a month, giving mining stocks a big lift.
Gold gained $43.10, or 3.3 percent, to $1,336 an ounce, its biggest gain in more than a year. Copper rose 4 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $3.19 per pound.
Among mining companies, Newmont Mining rose $1.66, or 5.8 percent, to $30.35. Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold gained 59 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $29.15.
Gold had plunged earlier in the year because investors thought the Federal Reserve was close to ending its economic stimulus. Gold is now advancing on speculation that the Fed could continue the stimulus for longer than previously thought. That increases the chance of higher inflation and weakens the dollar. When the dollar falls, gold becomes more attractive as an alternative investment.
The stock market has surged in July after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke assured investors that the U.S. central bank would not pull back on its stimulus before the economy was strong enough. The Fed is buying $85 billion of bonds each month to keep long-term interest rates low and to encourage spending.
The S&P 500 has gained 5.6 percent in July. That puts the index on track for it best month since October 2011.
Small company stocks have fared even better. The Russell 2000 closed above 1,000 for the first time on July 5 and is up 7.8 percent for the month. That signals that investors have become more comfortable buying riskier assets.
In commodities trading, the price of oil fell 93 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $106.94 a barrel.
In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was unchanged from Friday at 2.48 percent. As recently as July 5, the yield was as high as 2.74 percent.
As of Monday, 63 percent of the companies that have reported earnings have exceeded expectations. That’s above the historical average.
Business, Pages 20 on 07/23/2013