Stocks on Wall Street, snapping the year’s longest losing streak, rose on Tuesday on gains by Best Buy, J.C. Penney and other retailers.
In afternoon trading, the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index gained 0.6 percent, the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8 percent higher.
Gains accelerated in the afternoon led by large-cap technology stocks, including Intel and Cisco Systems, which briefly lifted the Nasdaq composite index more than 1 percent.
But United States Treasury bond yields, although down from Monday, were still at two-year highs, encouraging investors to dump riskier assets like stocks and buy government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note dipped to 2.83 percent on Tuesday from 2.88 percent on Monday.
Investors are now awaiting minutes of the most recent meeting of the Federal Reserve’s policy makers. Those minutes, to be released on Wednesday, could help investors better understand the mind-set of policy makers as they consider weaning the world’s biggest economy off the Fed’s so-called quantitative easing program.
“Stocks are rebounding today but we are seeing a lot of market swings because of the concerns on Fed tapering, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended flat or lower by the end of the day,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research in Austin, Tex.
Best Buy, Home Depot and J.C. Penney led a string of retailers posting results, sending their shares up in early trading. Consumer-focused shares had recently been battered as many earlier reports on retailers’ sales failed to impress investors.
Intel shares were up 1.4 percent, while Cisco Systems jumped nearly 1 percent.
Europe’s main stock markets ended the day lower, mirroring concerns in other markets as expectations increased that the Federal Reserve would soon start tapering its stimulative bond purchases. London’s FTSE closed the trading session off 0.2 percent, the DAX in Frankfurt was 0.8 percent lower and the CAC 40 in Paris was down 1.4 percent.
The S.P. closed below its 50-day moving average for a second straight session on Monday and at its lowest level since July 8.
Shares in Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement chain, opened higher before losing 0.2 percent by the afternoon. It raised its yearly outlook after posting a profit that beat analysts’ expectations.
Shares of Best Buy, the world’s largest consumer electronics chain, rallied more than 9.1 percent after it reported a higher quarterly profit.
The apparel retailer Urban Outfitters announced a quarterly profit that exceeded market estimates, and its shares gained 9.7 percent.
Shares in J.C. Penney, the beleaguered department store chain, gained 3.7 percent after it reported same-store sales fell 11.9 percent in the second quarter, during which it reverted to a promotions-heavy strategy to try to halt a sharp sales decline.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss