BA Boeing Co

By Caitlin Ostroff 

U.S. stocks inched higher Monday as earnings season rolled on and investors continued to track developments in the U.K.'s divorce from the European Union and trade talks between China and the U.S.

The S&P 500 ticked up 0.4% as a big week for corporate results kicked off. So far, third-quarter earnings have beaten analysts' expectations, despite the slowing global economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%.

Shares of oilfield services company Halliburton added 6.4% after reporting earnings. Among the companies scheduled to report later this week are McDonald's, Caterpillar and Ford Motor.

In other corporate news, shares in Boeing fell 4.3% after The Wall Street Journal reported that Congress is ramping up scrutiny of the plane maker's leaders as new details pointed to undue management pressure on employees.

Shares of drug companies AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson fell Monday, after t he Journal reported that the companies reached a last-minute settlement, avoiding a trial seeking to blame them for fueling the opioid crisis. AmerisourceBergen fell 4.2%, Cardinal Health dropped 3.6% and McKesson lost 3.5%.

Cosmetics maker Coty shares rallied 12% after the company said it would explore strategic alternatives for its professional beauty business.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 1.783% from 1.747% Friday. Bond yields rise as prices fall.

In the U.K., the British pound ticked up 0.1% against the dollar, climbing past the psychological barrier of $1.30 after a critical vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit dea l was delayed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, which includes many companies with large overseas earnings that benefit from sterling's decline, edged up 0.2%.

"We're going to have that kind of ebbing and flowing," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets. "It's just going to be hanging around to find out what's happening."

Optimism that Mr. Johnson will secure lawmakers' backing for his deal boosted European bond yields. Yields rise when prices fall.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.6%, led by banks and the automotive sector.

Karen Langley contributed to this article.

Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 21, 2019 10:21 ET (14:21 GMT)

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