NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stock indexes finished a bit higher Monday as investors let go of some of their fears about a possible trade war between the U.S. and China. However, far bigger gains slipped away as the market suffered a steep afternoon decline.
Stocks climbed higher and higher in the first hours of trading, and at about 2 p.m. the Dow Jones industrial average was up 440 points. That put the market on track to make up almost all of the ground it lost during a big sell-off Friday. But stocks have repeatedly changed course as investors tried to guess the outcome of the U.S.-China trade dispute, and they did it again Monday afternoon.
Health care companies finished with strong gains, and technology companies like Microsoft and Apple regained some of their recent losses. Banks rose along with interest rates. However, industrial and retail companies finished with losses, and smaller companies fared worse than larger ones did.
"Every day the market wakes up and it struggles with whether it should pay attention to noise or pay attention to fundamentals," said Marina Severinovsky, an investment strategist at Schroders. She said stocks have done well recently when investors can get their minds off the trade disputes because the global economy and the U.S. economy are still growing.
When companies start to report their first-quarter results later this week, she added, the results are likely to be good.
The S&P 500 index gained 8.69 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,613.16. The S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent last week, with large losses Monday and Friday and strong gains in between.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.34 points, or 0.2 percent, to 23,979.10. The Nasdaq composite jumped 35.23 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,950.34. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks added 1.17 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,514.46.
The Russell index is composed of more U.S.-focused companies that are somewhat less vulnerable to the effects of tariffs, so its moves in response to the recent trade tensions haven't been as dramatic.
Most of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange finished lower Monday.