While you were sleeping: UPDATED Wall St creeps higher as Apple shines

Wall Street edged higher, after climbing to record highs earlier in the day, as popped up to a record close after being negative territory for most of the session.

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.34 points, or 0.03%, at 21,012.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index was also up  0.03% to 6102.66 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was unchanged at 2399.38.

Earlier in the session the S&P 500 touched a record high 2401.36, while the Nasdaq reached a record 6106.12.

"We remain largely constructive of the equity market and view that the path of least resistance is higher," Bill Northey, chief investment officer at Private Client Group of US Bank, told Reuters.

In the Dow, declines in shares of DuPont and those of Goldman Sachs, down 1.1% and 0.7% respectively, offset gains in shares of Apple and those of Exxon Mobil, up 2.7% and 1.1% respectively. Shares of Chevron were up 0.8% in a late burst as oil futures for June delivery rose 0.5% to $US46.43 a barrel..

Apple closed at $US153.01 after billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had more than doubled its stake in the iPhone maker during the first quarter.

Tyson in trouble
Meanwhile, shares of Tyson Foods slumped 6.1% after the US meat processor posted a larger-than-expected slide in quarterly profit because "ongoing challenges" in its prepared foods unit and fires at its chicken plants.

Net income attributable to Tyson fell to US$340 million in the second quarter, down from US$432 million in the same quarter a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

"Our Prepared Foods segment results were negatively affected by the ongoing challenges in our pizza toppings and ingredients meats businesses discussed last quarter," Tom Hayes, Tyson's chief executive officer, said in the statement.

"We expect our results to improve as we continue to address operational efficiency and capacity through fiscal year 2018. Unfortunately, we experienced fires in two chicken plants in our second quarter," Hayes said. "Had it not been for the fires, our Chicken segment return on sales would have been within its normalised range."

Coach bids for rival
In fresh corporate deal news, Coach said it agreed to buy rival handbag maker Kate Spade for $US2.4 billion. Shares of Kate Spade jumped 8.3%, while those of Coach shares climbed 5.4%.

"Kate Spade has a truly unique and differentiated brand positioning with a broad lifestyle assortment and strong awareness among consumers, especially millennials," Victor Luis, CEO of Coach, said in a statement.

In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index ended the session with a 0.1% decline from the previous close. Germany's DAX Index slipped 0.2%, while France's CAC40 Index slid 0.9%.

The UK's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.1%.

In France, centrist Emmanuel Macron defeated anti-euro nationalist Marine Le Pen in presidential elections, as had been predicted in the polls.

"Fading political risk in France adds to the chance that eurozone economic growth can surprise to the upside this year," Holger Schmieding, an analyst at Berenberg Bank, told Reuters.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, also offered positive news, with a report showing the nation's factory orders grew for a second straight month.

(BusinessDesk)