Stocks are closing with modest gains on Wall Street, lifting the market's major indexes to new record highs. Trading was mostly muted Monday as investors look ahead to a shortened holiday week. Boeing jumped after the company said its CEO was resigning immediately as the crisis related to its 737 Max aircraft drags on. Homebuilders are broadly lower after the Commerce Department said U.S. new home sales increased in November at a slower rate than analysts expected. The S&P 500 closed 0.1% higher. The Dow climbed 0.3% and the Nasdaq added 0.2%.

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

Stocks notched modest gains in afternoon trading on Wall Street Monday, placing the market on track to extend the major indexes' record-setting run.

Technology, industrial and health care stocks accounted for most of the gains, outweighing losses elsewhere in the market. Utilities took the heaviest losses, a signal that investors were shifting money away from more defensive sectors.

Shares of Boeing jumped after the company said its CEO has resigned, as the crisis related to its marquee 737 Max aircraft drags on. Apache Corp. soared after it announced a joint venture to develop an oil field in Suriname.

Homebuilders were broadly lower after the Commerce Department said new home sales increased in November at a slower rate than analysts expected. Hovnanian Enterprises fell 1.6%.

Trading was muted as investors looked ahead to a shortened holiday week. U.S. markets were scheduled to open for only a half day on Tuesday and then close the next day for Christmas.

“Right now, a lot of people have gone home for the year and the path of least resistance is higher,” said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “It's hard to see any kind of meaningful trend change between now and the end of the year.”

Momentum for stocks has been clearly upward for months, driving the major stock indexes to record highs. The benchmark S&P 500 index has finished with a weekly gain in 10 out of the past 11 weeks.

Rising optimism around a “Phase 1” trade deal announced earlier this month between the United States and China has helped put investors in a buying mood. Fears about a possible recession have also faded since the summer after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates three times, and the central bank appears set to keep them low for a long time.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 was up 0.1% as of 3:28 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 115 points, or 0.4%, to 28,570. The Nasdaq composite added 0.3% and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 0.2%.

Major stock indexes in Europe closed mostly higher.

MAXED OUT: Boeing rose 3% after the Chicago manufacturer said CEO Dennis Muilenburg is stepping down immediately over the company’s troubled Max 737 aircraft. The board's current chairman David Calhoun will officially take over on January 13.

The board said a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the company as it works to repair relationships with regulators and stakeholders. The Max was grounded worldwide in March after two crashes of its jet, killing a combined 346 people.

SLICK MOVE: Apache Corp. jumped 16.9% after the company said it has entered into a joint venture to develop an oil field in Suriname.

DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE: Walt Disney shares fell 1.5% after box office receipts for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" failed to match the opening weekend performance of its recent predecessors.

The film, the final installment of the “Star Wars” saga, still amassed a $175.5 million debut that ranked as the third largest weekend of the year.

DIALING UP A DEAL: Cincinnati Bell soared 35% after the specialty communications company agreed to be acquired by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a deal valued at $2.6 billion, including debt.

BOND YIELDS: The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 1.93% from 1.91% late Friday. The two-year yield climbed to 1.65% from 1.61%, and the 30-year yield rose to 2.35%.

COMMODITIES: Benchmark U.S. crude oil reversed an early slide, rising 8 cents to settle at $60.52 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 25 cents to close at $66.39 per barrel. Wholesale gasoline was unchanged at $1.71 per gallon. Heating oil was unchanged at $2.02 per gallon. Natural gas fell 12 cents to $2.21 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold rose $7.80 to $1,482.50 per ounce. Silver rose 27 cents to $17.40 per ounce and copper rose 2 cents to $2.82 per pound.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 109.37 Japanese yen from 109.47 yen on Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1093 from $1.1075.