Stocks high with focus on tech

U.S. stocks reversed early losses to trade higher on light volume Monday as investors looked past potentially rising global trade tensions to focus on tech strength. The dollar climbed, roiling emerging markets, while oil drifted lower as President Donald Trump called for Saudi Arabia to increase petroleum production in order to reduce prices.

The S&P 500 Index rose as information technology companies and utilities offset weakness in energy, while the Nasdaq indexes also climbed. With U.S. trading desks thinly staffed ahead of the July 4 holiday, volume in S&P 500 stocks was about 17 percent below average, and activity in Nasdaq shares was 22 percent less than normal.

Commodities had their biggest tumble since 2016, led by weakness in metals, as silver dropped almost 2 percent and gold declined 1 percent.

Amazon delivers to the Himalayas

Perched high in the Himalayas, near India’s border with China, the tiny town of Leh sometimes seems as if it has been left behind by modern technology. Internet and cellphone service is spotty. But early each morning, the convenience of the digital age arrives, by way of a plane carrying 15 to 20 bags of packages from Amazon.com. When the plane arrives from New Delhi, it is met by employees from Amazon’s local delivery partner, Incredible Himalaya. Amazon began offering doorstep delivery in this region last fall. Sales volume in Leh is up twelvefold since Incredible Himalaya took over deliveries.

Budget airlines push Europe deals

Forget Yellowstone. Right now, you can buy a ticket to travel from New York to Paris in August — on a major American airline — for under $500. Low prices on routes across the Atlantic are coming as budget carriers, Norwegian Air and Wow Air of Iceland in particular, increase routes in hopes of capturing summer travelers. Whether these low fares will last is uncertain. “What used to be four-digit airfares in peak summer are now three digits,” said Robert Mann, an airline industry consultant. Mann describes the situation as “quite unusual,” suggesting travelers take advantage while they can.

Tesla achieves a production goal

Tesla says it has reached a manufacturing milestone, producing more than 5,000 Model 3 sedans in a week. Now the electric carmaker must prove it is not a one-time achievement. The company is counting on the Model 3, its first mass-market vehicle, to increase revenue and offset the billions of dollars it has been spending to set up a huge battery plant in Nevada and begin making the Model 3 at its car plant in Fremont, California, as well as to develop new vehicles.

— From wire reports