Stock Ended Mostly Higher, Oil Futures Rose

U.S. stocks ended mostly higher on Tuesday, as investors weighed recent optimism over U.S.-China trade talks against economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30.52 points, or 0.11%, to 27,492.63. The S&P 500 was down 3.65 points, or 0.12%, to 3,074.62. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 1.48 points, or 0.02%, to 8,434.68.

Oil futures rose Tuesday, with positive expectations around U.S.-China trade talks. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose 69 cents, or 1.2%, to settle $57.23 a barrel. January Brent crude gained 83 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $62.96 a barrel.

the Institute of Supply Management’s U.S. service sector activity index rose to 54.7% in October, up from 52.6% in September. Any reading above 50 indicates improving conditions.

The number of U.S. job vacancies slipped in September for the fourth month in a row to 7.02 million from 7.3 million, the government said Tuesday.

The U.S. trade deficit dropped 4.7% in September to a 5-month low, helped by first oil surplus since 1978, but the U.S. is still on track to post an even larger trade gap in 2019 than it did in 2018.