U.S. stocks edged higher to fresh records as investors looked for signs of progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations. The dollar weakened and Treasury yields dipped.
The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite all fluctuated throughout the day, but ended up eking out a gain. Defensive shares such as consumer staples and utilities performed best. Word that the White House would extend a license to allow U.S. companies to do business with Chinese telecom firm Huawei competed with reports that said Beijing was skeptical about reaching a broad deal anytime soon.
