By Akane Otani

The S&P 500 eked out a small gain Monday, extending a listless streak of trading at the start of a busy week for corporate earnings.

Stock trading has been relatively quiet in recent weeks as investors have tried to discern whether data are pointing to a rebound in economic momentum after a soft start to the year, or further weakening. Earnings released this week will help investors get a sense of how well profits at U.S. companies held up at the start of the year.

"A lot of really good news is already reflected in [stock] prices, and that's why we're struggling to move materially higher," said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors.

Mr. Arone added that as the weeks go on, he will be closely watching corporate executives have to say about the outlook for coming quarters.

The S&P 500 added 2.94 points, or 0.1%, to 2907.97, posting its 14th advance in 17 trading days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48.49 points, or 0.2%, to 26511.05 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 17.20 points, or 0.2%, to 8015.27.

Shares of energy companies jumped with oil prices after the White House said it was halting waivers for countries that import Iranian oil.

Marathon Oil, Devon Energy and Diamondback Energy rose more than 3% apiece. U.S. crude for May delivery added $1.70, or 2.7%, to $65.70 a barrel, notching its biggest one-day percentage gain since February and settling at its highest level since October.

The moves extend a strong streak for energy shares, which have rallied this year as major exporters around the world have extended efforts to curb output.

Corporate earnings also drove swings across the stock market.

Kimberly-Clark, maker of consumer goods ranging from Kleenex tissues to Scott toilet paper, rose $6.70, or 5.4%, to $130.25 after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter.

Industrial supply company W.W. Grainger fell $16.97, or 5.5%, to $291.21 after reporting worse-than-expected sales results.

Mattel shares shed 72 cents, or 5.8%, to $11.77, extending a slide that began earlier in the month after safety issues prompted the toy maker's Fischer-Price unit to pull Rock 'n Play sleepers off the market. The company is to report quarterly results Thursday.

Later this week, investors will get a fresh look at the health of the U.S. economy, with data on jobless claims and estimates for first-quarter gross domestic product scheduled for release.

Technology multinationals such as Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon.com are also reporting earnings, offering investors a sense of whether this year's rally in shares of rapidly growing companies has further room to run.

Signs that the U.S. economy has continued to be a relative bright spot in the world have helped drive shares higher this year. The Dow industrials have risen three of the past four weeks, trading near their highest level since October.

Bond yields have bounced off of the lows they hit earlier in the year, a sign that investors' outlook for growth has perked up.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 2.592%, compared with 2.563% Thursday. Yields rise as bond prices fall.

Elsewhere, markets in Europe remained closed for the Easter holiday, while stock indexes across Asia ended mixed.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.1% Monday, edging closer to its high for the year.

The Shanghai Composite slumped 1.7% as investors weighed fears that officials might consider slowing their policy-easing measures.

Write to Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2019 17:06 ET (21:06 GMT)

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