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Stocks started the week rallying higher right after the opening bell rang. Despite some negative news released during the weekend, the market held up well, ending the day close to the intraday highs. Indices closed in the red zone on Tuesday, after making some progress in the morning. By close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%; the S&P 500 Index lost 0.4%, and the NASDAQ Composite was lower by 0.7%. Both the Industrials and Basic Materials sectors moved higher, while the Technology sector drew the market down. In economic news, existing-home sales dipped to 5.38 million units, annualized, during September, missing expectations. The following day, stocks climbed higher as the Healthcare and Basic Materials sectors made some progress, while the Industrial sector took a step back. The major indices closed out mixed on Thursday, as the Dow shed some points while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ posted gains. No surprise that the Technology sector was among the best performers, thanks to some solid earnings reports. Oil prices ticked higher, as a rally continued, as a result of the less-than-expected crude oil inventories reported Wednesday. Indices ended the session with gains on Friday, with the S&P 500 closing just shy of a record high. The positive finish for the week was likely because of the strength of the consumer and trade talk optimism. Sentiment from Washington was that the U.S. and China agreed on certain sections of a deal. On another note, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index ticked up to 95.5 in October from 93.2 in September.