Technology companies and retailers led stocks modestly higher on Wall Street, adding to the market’s solid start to the week and more in Tuesday’s Stock Market Update.
The latest gains were enough to leave major indexes at record highs Tuesday for the second day in a row.
Investors were encouraged by more signs that the U.S. and China are making progress toward ending their costly trade war.
Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) jumped 18.6% after releasing earnings that soared past analysts’ forecasts. Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) climbed 9.8% after releasing strong results of its own.
STOCK MARKET UPDATE
The S&P 500 rose 6 points, or 0.2%, to 3,140. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 55 points, or 0.2%, to 28,121. The Nasdaq rose 15 points, or 0.2%, to 8,647.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks gained 0.1%. Major stock indexes in Europe finished mostly higher.
New U.S. tariffs are set to hit Dec. 15 on many Chinese-made items on holiday shopping checklists, such as smartphones and laptops. That has investors hoping that the latest round of talks between Washington and Beijing will yield a deal that halts their trade dispute, or at least stops it from escalating.
Traders also got to weigh new data on the U.S. consumer Tuesday. The Conference Board said its closely watched consumer confidence index fell slightly for the fourth consecutive month to 125.5. Still, the reading remains elevated ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Investors will have several other economic reports to assess on Wednesday, including home sales data, a key measure of inflation and the government’s latest quarterly estimate of economic growth.
Gains in Microsoft and Intuit helped lift technology stocks Tuesday. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) rose 0.5% and Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) climbed 3.4%. The technology sector is on track for a 41.6% gain this year.
Industrial stocks and makers of household goods also rose.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.73% from 1.76% late Monday.
The lower yields weighed on banks, which use them to set interest rates on mortgages and other loans. Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all fell.
Several retailers closed out the latest round of corporate earnings with varied results Tuesday.
Discount retailer Dollar Tree plunged (NASDAQ: DLTR) 15.2% after its profit fell short of Wall Street expectations. And clothing chain operator Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) slid 2.5% after the company lowered the top end of its revenue guidance.
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