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Benchmark US indices closed higher on Tuesday, Nov 16, after the latest economic data showed retail sales rose to their highest level since March this year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.39% to 4,700.90. The Dow Jones was up 0.15% to 36,142.22. The NASDAQ Composite rose 0.76% to 15,973.86, and the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.10% to 2,403.42.
On Tuesday, the Commerce Department said retail sales increased 1.7% in October, the highest since March. The retails sales increase could be partly due to the higher prices of consumer items, as reflected in the monthly consumer inflation that rose 0.9% in October.
The report coincided with the Fed’s move to start tapering its bond-buying program, which is expected to conclude by mid-next year.
However, inflation concerns continue to weigh on investors’ minds. Economists expect more volatility in the US market due to rising covid cases in Europe and China’s property market stress and growing inflation.
Wall Street rejoices retail sales, Biden-Xi meet, industrial production data
Meanwhile, the crypto market declined about 5.84% on Tuesday after President Biden signed a US$1 trillion infrastructure bill into law a day earlier. The law contains cryptocurrency tax reporting rules.
Consumer discretionary, technology, and healthcare stocks were among the top movers on the S&P 500 index. Real estate, consumer staples, and communication services stocks were the bottom movers. Seven of the 11 segments in the index remained in the green.
Walmart Inc. (WMT) stock fell 2.57% after reporting its third-quarter results. Its revenue grew 4.3% YoY to US$140.5 billion in the quarter. It also raised the full-year guidance.
Home Depot, Inc. (HD) also reported a 9.8% increase in net sales to US$36.8 billion in Q3. The stock rose nearly 6% in intraday trading.
Lucid Group (LCID) stock jumped 21% after reporting reduced losses in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Tesla Inc. (TSLA) stock jumped about 3% on Tuesday after witnessing three consecutive sessions of decline. On Monday, CEO Elon Musk had sold another lot of shares worth US$930 million.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Lowe’s Companies Inc. (LOW) rose 4.47%, Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) increased 0.49%, and Target Corporation grew 0.97%. Dollar General Corporation (DG) was up 1.61%, and Ebay Inc. (EBAY) gained 2.87%.
In the information technology sector, Microsoft Inc (MSFT) increased 1.10%, Apple Inc (AAPL) grew 0.70%, and Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) rose 0.22%. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) gained 2.26%, and Visa Inc. (V) increased 1.25%.
In the real estate sector, Boston Properties Inc (BXP) declined 2.51%, Host Hotels (HST) fell 2.51%, and American Tower Corporation REIT (AMT) decreased 0.26%. Prologis Inc. (PLD) and Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (CCI) declined 0.73% and 1.12%, respectively.
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Image description: Consumer discretionary, technology, and healthcare stocks were among the top movers on the S&P 500 index.
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Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were down 0.81% to US$1,851.40 per ounce. Silver decreased by 0.96% to US$24.863 per ounce, while copper fell 1.32% to US$4.3415.
Brent oil futures increased by 0.59% to US$82.53 per barrel and WTI crude futures were up 0.06% to US$79.80.
Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields was up 0.68% to 2.021, while the 10-year bond yields up 0.56% to 1.630.
US Dollar Futures Index increased by 0.60% to US$95.977.
