U.S. stocks get a lift from earnings; Berkshire and Tyson rise

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks are slightly higher Monday as companies including Tyson Foods and Berkshire Hathaway are rising after their second-quarter reports. Energy companies are moving up with the price of oil. Overseas markets are getting off to a sluggish start to the week.

Keeping score: The S&P 500 index rose 5 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,856 as of 11:40 a.m. Eastern time. The benchmark index has risen for five weeks in a row, its longest winning streak in 2018.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged at 25,462. The Nasdaq composite added 22 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,834.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 7 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,680. Most stocks on the New York Stock Exchange traded higher.

Riding higher: Results for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate were stronger than analysts expected and the company’s Class B shares climbed 3.5 percent to $207.19.

Tyson Foods gained 3.3 percent to $59.64. The meat producer cut its profit forecast last week in part because of uncertainty surrounding trade policy and rising freight costs. But it didn’t give any signs things are getting worse. The stock is down 26 percent this year.

Dental and medical products maker Henry Schein reported a larger profit and more revenue than Wall Street expected and its stock rose 5.5 percent to $84.63.

Construction and technical services company Jacobs Engineering jumped 6.7 percent to $71.56 after it gave a strong forecast for its next fiscal year.

Taking losses: Consumer products company Newell Brands dropped 12.5 percent to $23.25. The company said the liquidation of Toys R Us hurt its baby products business and its writing products unit also struggled. Newell has been selling off assets including its Rawlings sporting goods business.

Sotheby’s auction house slid 5.8 percent to $49.84 after its profit fell short of investor projections. The company said its business was hurt by price guarantees that made some auctions less profitable.

Not going Rite: Rite Aid plunged 10.6 percent to $1.65 after it forecast a bigger loss for the year because generic drug pricing isn’t shaping up the way it expected.

Later this week shareholders will vote on the proposed sale of Rite Aid to the Albertsons grocery store chain. The owner of Safeway agreed to buy Rite Aid in February, but two shareholder advisory firms and one major Rite Aid shareholder opposed the deal.

In with the new, out with Nooyi: PepsiCo said Indra Nooyi will step down as its CEO in October after 12 years leading the company. Ramon Laguarta, who is in charge of corporate strategy and oversees global operations, will become its next CEO. The stock rose 1.6 percent to $118.16.

Energy: Benchmark U.S. crude gained 1.8 percent to $69.68 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 1.2 percent to $74.11 a barrel in London.

Crude prices rose after the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran. That followed the Trump administration’s withdrawal from an international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program earlier this year. Sanctions on the Iranian oil industry are set to resume in early November.

Currencies: Regulators in China tightened controls on trading in the yuan in a possible effort to stop its decline against the dollar. The yuan has drifted lower against the dollar since February, which could help exporters that face higher U.S. tariffs but also raises the risk of capital flowing out of the economy.

The British pound weakened after the U.K.’s trade minister warned that the country is at risk of leaving the European Union without a deal that would help it avoid tariffs and other trade barriers. The currency fell to $1.2946, its lowest in almost a year, from $1.3007 on Friday.

The dollar rose to 111.40 yen from 111.23 yen. The euro fell to $1.1567 from $1.1578.

Bonds: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.93 percent from 2.95 percent.

Utilities, household goods makers, and other companies that pay large dividends did better than the rest of the market. Those stocks are often compared to bonds, and they generally do better when bond yields are down.

Overseas: Germany’s DAX lost 0.3 percent and while London’s FTSE 100 was little changed. France’s CAC 40 gave up 0.2 percent.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5 percent and Seoul’s Kospi was dipped less than 0.1 percent.