The S&P 500 rose to an all-time high on Tuesday, capping off its recovery from the coronavirus-induced selloff that knocked it off its previous record.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 66.84 points to 27,778.07, as Home Depot and Walmart both dipped.
The S&P 500 eased forward 7.79 points to 3,389.78, confirming the start of a new bull market. Consumer discretionary was the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, rising 1.5%
The NASDAQ added to Monday’s all-time high, gaining 81.12 points to 11,210.84.
Amazon shares outperformed, rising more than 4%. Netflix and Alphabet both gained at least 2%.
Home Depot said sales last quarter jumped 23% as consumers stuck in their homes increased do-it-yourself projects. Earnings and sales exceeded Wall Street expectations. Walmart’s earnings and revenue also topped Wall Street estimates last quarter as same-store sales increased by 9.3%. E-commerce sales nearly doubled.
The market’s scorching rally back into record territory also came on the heels of unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus. The Federal Reserve slashed the overnight U.S. rate to zero as the pandemic first hit and launched an open-ended quantitative easing program.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, pushed through trillions of dollars worth in unemployment assistance and direct payments to Americans, among other benefits.
Elsewhere on the macroeconomic front, U.S. housing starts for July totaled 1.496 million, easily topping an estimate of 1.24 million.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 0.66% from Monday’s 0.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices ditched 31 cents at $42.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $12.50 to $2,011.20 U.S. an ounce.