Financial Markets                      12/03 15:25

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks tiptoed to more records amid a mixed Tuesday of 
trading, tacking a touch more onto what's already been a stellar year so far.

   The S&P 500 edged up by 2 points, or less than 0.1%, to set an all-time high 
for the 55th time this year. It's climbed in 10 of the last 11 days and is on 
track for one of its best years since the turn of the millennium.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 76 points, or 0.2%, while the 
Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record set a day earlier.

   AT&T rose 4.6% after it boosted its profit forecast for the year. It also 
announced a $10 billion plan to send cash to its investors by buying back its 
own stock, while saying it expects to authorize another $10 billion of 
repurchases in 2027.

   On the losing end of Wall Street was U.S. Steel, which fell 8%. 
President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let 
Japan's Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker.

   Nippon Steel announced plans last December to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel 
producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction 
could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security. 
Earlier this year, President Joe Biden also came out against the acquisition.

   Tesla sank 1.6% after a judge in Delaware reaffirmed a previous ruling that 
the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk's multibillion-dollar pay package. 
The judge denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla's corporate 
directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to 
rescind the unprecedented pay package.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 2.73 points to 6,049.88. The Dow fell 76.47 to 
44,705.53, and the Nasdaq composite gained 76.96 to 19,480.91.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report 
showed U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of 
October than a month earlier. Continued strength there would raise optimism 
that the economy could remain out of a recession that many investors had 
earlier worried was inevitable.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23% from 4.20% from late Monday.

   Yields have seesawed since Election Day amid worries that Trump's 
preferences for lower tax rates and bigger tariffs could spur higher inflation 
along with economic growth. But traders are still confident the Federal Reserve 
will cut its main interest rate again at its next meeting in two weeks. They're 
betting on a nearly three-in-four chance of that, according to data from CME 
Group.

   Lower rates can give the economy more juice, but they can also give 
inflation more fuel.

   The key report this week that could guide the Fed's next move will arrive on 
Friday. It's the monthly jobs report, which will show how many workers U.S. 
employers hired and fired during November. It could be difficult to parse given 
how much storms and strikes distorted figures in October.

   Based on trading in the options market, Friday's jobs report appears to be 
the biggest potential market mover until the Fed announces its next decision on 
interest rates Dec. 18, according to strategists at Barclays Capital.

   In financial markets abroad, the value of South Korea's currency fell 1.1% 
against the U.S. dollar following a frenetic night where President Yoon Suk 
Yeol declared martial law and then later said he'd lift it after lawmakers 
voted to reject military rule. Stocks of Korean companies that trade in the 
United States also fell, including a 1.6% drop for SK Telecom.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to help lead global markets. Some analysts 
think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from Trump's threats to raise 
tariffs, including for goods coming from China.

   Trade relations between the U.S. and China took another step backward after 
China said it is banning exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony 
and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications.

   The counterpunch came swiftly after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded 
the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include 
many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and 
software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called "entity list" are 
nearly all based in China.

   In China, stock indexes rose 1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai amid 
unconfirmed reports that Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss 
planning for the coming year. Investors are hoping it may bring fresh stimulus 
to help spur growth in the world's second-largest economy.

   In France, the CAC 40 rose 0.3% amid continued worries about politics in 
Paris, where the government is battling over the budget.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

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