Stocks Ended Modestly Higher, Oil Prices Pulled Back

U.S. stocks ended modest gains on Tuesday, amid lingering enthusiasm about the U.S.’s progress toward forging a bilateral trade pact with Mexico. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 14.38 points, or 0.06%, to 26,064.02. The S&P 500 edged up 0.78 point. or 0.03%, to 2,897.82. Te Nasdaq Composite advanced 12.14 points, or 0.18%, to 8,030.04.

U.S. oil futures pulled back on Tuesday as traders fretted over signs of receding output and braced for the latest weekly U.S. crude inventory data. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery shed 34 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $68.53 a barrel. Brent crude lost 26 cents, or 0.3%, to $75.95 a barrel.

Consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in August to the highest level since October 2000, according to a report Tuesday from the New York-based Conference Board. Confidence index increased to 133.4 (est. 126.6) from 127.9 in July.