Stocks capped another wobbly day of trading on Wall Street with modest gains yesterday as financial and industrial companies helped lift the market, outweighing a pull back in technology stocks.

The S&P 500 recovered from an early slip and eked out a 0.1 per cent gain, enough to eclipse the record high it set Friday. The majority of companies in the benchmark index made gains, but they were kept in check by technology companies, which have an outsized weight on the S&P 500.

Banks made some of the strongest gains as bond yields edged higher. Banks benefit from higher yields, which allow them to charge higher interest rates on loans. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.35 per cent from 1.31 per cent late Monday.

Oil prices pulled up after sliding most of the last week and into Monday. US benchmark crude oil rose 2.7 per cent and helped lift the S&P 500’s energy sector to 1.7 per cent gain. Exxon Mobil rose 1.7 per cent and Chevron gained 1.8 per cent.

The broader market remains choppy with investors in the midst of a relatively quiet week. The latest round of corporate earnings is nearly finished and there are only a few pieces of economic data expected.