US stock indexes edge higher in morning trading; oil slides

Major US stock indexes edged higher in morning trading yesterday, led by gains among technology and materials companies. Real estate stocks were down the most. Investors had their eye on the latest company deal news. They're also looking ahead to the next wave of corporate earnings, which begin rolling out this week, and Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's upcoming testimony to Congress.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,429 as of 11:11 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,430. The Nasdaq composite rose 15 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,168. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 8 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,407. The indexes rose on Friday.

TECH RALLY: Technology companies led all other company sectors in morning trading. Flir Systems rose $1.13, or 3.3 percent, to $35.83. Nvidia climbed $4.40, or 3 percent, to $151.16, while eBay added 81 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $35.04.

RETAIL SLUMP: Retailers were among the big decliners. Best Buy slid $3.84, or 6.6 percent, to $54.03. Gap fell $1.09, or $4.81, to $21.55. Kohl's gave up $1.69, or 4.4 percent, to $36.55.

OFF THE MARKET: Abercrombie & Fitch slid 20.4 percent after the struggling teen fashion retailer said over the weekend that it is no longer up for sale. The company, which said in May it was talking with several possible buyers, said that sales remain strong at its surf-inspired Hollister brand and is continuing to work on improving the performance at Abercrombie. The stock shed $2.49 to $9.67.

TAKING A SWING: ClubCorp vaulted 30.5 percent after private equity firm Apollo Global Management agreed to buy the golf and country club company for $17.12 a share, or $1.1 billion. ClubCorp gained $4 to $17.10. Apollo was up 53 cents, or 2 percent, to $26.87.

DIALING DEALS: Hawaiian Telcom surged 18.7 percent on news the phone company will combine with Cincinnati Bell in a deal Hawaiian Telcom said is worth $650 million, or $30.75 per share of its stock. As part of the deal, Cincinnati Bell is buying another company, OnX Enterprise Solutions, for $201 million. Shares in Hawaiian Telcom added $4.56 to $29. Cincinnati Bell slid $1.35, or 7 percent, to $18.

EARNINGS: Companies including Pepsi Co. and Delta Air Lines, Inc. are due to release earnings this week as US companies begin their second-quarter reporting season. The market expects earnings per share growth of about 7 percent from companies in the S&P 500.

FED WATCH: Yellen testifies Wednesday and Thursday before US lawmakers. Investors are looking for signs of how the Fed might react to the latest jobs and inflation data. "We expect she will once again encourage expectations for the start of balance sheet normalization in September, followed by another rate hike in December — dependent on the data, of course," said Jim O'Sullivan of High-Frequency Economics.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.38 percent from 2.39 percent late Friday.

ENERGY: Oil prices rebounded after an early slide. Benchmark US crude was up 39 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $44.62 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was up 42 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $47.13 a barrel in London.

MARKETS ABROAD: In Europe, Germany's DAX was up 0.6 percent, while the CAC 40 in France was 0.6 percent higher. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.5 percent. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.7 percent. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.4 percent. India's Sensex rose 0.9 percent. Kospi added 0.1 percent.

CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 114.20 yen from 113.99 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.1388 from $1.1404.