Stock market today: Wall Street holds steady after another record-setting week

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding steady, coming off its latest record-setting week. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading Monday after closing Friday above the 5,000 level for the first time. The Dow was also little changed, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. The next big event for the market could be Tuesday’s update on U.S. inflation, which economists expect to show a drop back below 3%. Diamondback Energy climbed after saying it would buy Endeavor Energy Resources in a deal valued at roughly $26 billion, including debt. Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz are among the companies reporting results this week.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Coming off a record-breaking week, Wall Street drifted toward modest losses early Monday with more corporate earnings on tap and another inflation update coming from the U.S. government.

Futures for the S&P 500 were flat before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than 0.1%.

This week brings an important update from the Labor Department on consumer inflation.

The U.S. price data may not have a major impact on monetary policy, “However, the good news is that U.S. inflation probably decreased at the beginning of the year, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve may consider interest rate cuts in the coming months,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Wall Street has been on a run since late October, fueled by hopes that cooling inflation will lead the Federal Reserve to dial down the pressure by cutting interest rates.

Profits have mostly been better than expected for the big companies in the S&P 500 this reporting season, which is roughly two-thirds finished. That has burnished optimism on Wall Street, but...