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U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday after a strong October retail sales report and better-than-expected third-quarter results from Home Depot and Walmart signaled the U.S. consumer is still ramping up spending even in the face of rising prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 54.77 points to close at 36,142.22.
The S&P 500 picked up 18.1 points to 4,700.30.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 120.01 points to 15,973.86.
Home Depot was the biggest gainer in the Dow by far on Tuesday, jumping 5.7% after results topped estimates and net sales jumped 9.8% last quarter. The home improvement retailer also said fiscal fourth-quarter sales were already tracking higher than last quarter, pointing to a possible strong year-end finish.
In another sign of consumer strength, Walmart reported third-quarter profit and revenue well above estimates, and U.S. same-store sales jumped 9.2%, excluding fuel. However, digital sales saw growth of just 8%, compared to Street expectations of 20.5%. The stock pulled back 2.5% and was the Dow’s biggest decliner.
Retail sales figures for October also came in 1.7%, higher than 0.7% in September, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected sales to have jumped by 1.5%.
On Monday afternoon, President Joe Biden signed the $1-trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law. The package includes funding for transportation, broadband and utilities.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys lost ground Tuesday, raising yields to 1.64% from Monday’s 1.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped nine cents to $80.79 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices swooned $14.80 to $1,851.80 U.S. an ounce.
