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U.S. stocks ended with modest gains on Monday, as major indexes eked out closing records as investors looked ahead to the release of major corporate earnings expected to show strong fundamentals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83 points, or 0.4%, to 22,955. The S&P 500 added 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,558. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 18 points to 6,624, a rise of 0.3%. Wall Street has been in a pronounced uptrend of late; last week, both the Dow and the S&P closed out their fifth straight weekly advance, while the Nasdaq has risen for three straight weeks. Financial stocks were among the strongest of the day, with the sector up 0.7%. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. rose 2.1% while Bank of America Corp. was up 1.6%. Markets were also supported by the latest economic data. The New York Fed reported that its Empire State manufacturing index climbed to a three-year high of 30.2 in October from 24.4 in September, topping the Econoday-compiled consensus of 20.

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Oil prices climbed Monday to settle at their highest level in nearly three weeks as tensions in the Middle East raised concerns about global crude supplies. Iraqi forces reportedly seized the city of Kirkuk and its surrounding oil fields from Kurdish forces Monday. Uncertainty surrounding the survival of the Iran nuclear deal also boosted prices. Meanwhile, a monthly report from the Energy Information Administration, released shortly before Nymex oil prices settled Monday, failed to put pressure on prices. The report said shale crude-oil production from seven major U.S. oil plays is expected to edge up by 81,000 barrels a day in November to 6.12 million barrels a day. November West Texas Intermediate oil rose 42 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $51.87 a barrel–the highest since Sept. 27.

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President Trump is due to meet with Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen about serving a second term running the central bank, Politico reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Trump has previously said he was considering Yellen for the post. Other finalists include Fed Gov Jerome Powell, former Fed Gov. Kevin Warsh, Stanford economist John Taylor and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn.

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Allergan PLC shares dropped 5% in extremely heavy afternoon trade Monday after a Texas district court judge ruled against the company in a patent lawsuit regarding the company’s key billion-dollar dry eye medication Restasis. “There is no doubt that Allergan has invented a useful and successful pharmaceutical product. It has been richly rewarded for that invention,” Judge William Bryson said, adding, “the Court has concluded that Allergan is not entitled to renewed patent rights for Restasis in the form of a second wave of patent protection.” Allergan had previously made an unorthodox agreement with a New York state-based American Indian tribe in order to protect Restasis patents from challenges made through the U.S. Patent and Trade Office’s inter partes review process, which is separate from any court decisions. The company, which has been widely criticized for the move, including by lawmakers, has said that an district court ruling against it would allow a generic Restasis to “enter the market many years in advance of the listed patent expiry dates,” or 2024. Restasis, which is used for eye inflammation, brought in $1.4 billion in revenue last year, second only to Allergan’s top-selling Botox. Allergan shares have dropped 20.7% over the last three months, compared with a 3.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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President Donald Trump repeated rhetoric from early in his presidency about drug prices being “out of control” and drugmakers “getting away with murder” on Monday, but said nothing about any possible drug pricing policies. Industry ETFs were largely undisturbed after the remarks, with the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF rising 0.5% in Monday morning trade, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF declining 0.2%, the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF rising 0.1% and the VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF declining 0.3%. Trump has previously made similar comments about drug pricing, and once vowed to bring prices down, but the only move from his administration so far has been a draft executive order that favored the drug industry. More movement is instead coming from the Food and Drug Administration, which does not handle drug pricing policy but does play a role through its approval of new drugs, especially cheap generics. The FDA has already approved more drugs in 2017 than it did for all of last year, and drugmakers have cited the regulator’s approval pace as a factor hurting their bottom lines. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has surged 9.8% over the last three months, compared with a 3.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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President Donald Trump said Monday his administration is looking “very strongly” at welfare reform. “People are taking advantage of the system” while others aren’t getting what they need, Trump said in remarks at a cabinet meeting at the White House. Welfare reform would join an existing list of major policy items Trump is seeking action on, including a tax-policy overhaul, immigration and health care.

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