Indexes edge higher as tech and consumer companies rise

With the Christmas holiday and the end of 2016 coming into view, stocks edged higher Monday as bond yields dropped and investors who sought income moved money into phone company and real estate stocks.

Technology and industrial companies rose, while energy companies skidded and health care stocks continued to lag the rest of the market. Disney climbed after a strong opening weekend for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” its second movie in the revived “Star Wars” franchise.

Trading volume was the lowest since mid-October, except for the abbreviated trading session after the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 39.65 points, or 0.2 percent, to 19,883.06. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 4.46 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,262.53. The Nasdaq composite added 20.28 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,457.44. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks rose 7.49 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,371.68.

Bond yields have surged to multi-year highs in recent days, but they moved lower Monday, as bond prices rose.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slid to 2.54 percent from 2.60 percent late Friday. That sent interest rates lower and affects the profits banks make from mortgages and other loans.