Dow jumps 376 points as investors digest latest earnings and retail sales data
- US stocks climbed higher Tuesday, with the Dow gaining over 350 points.
- Home Depot reported strong earnings, while Walmart missed expectations.
US stocks climbed Tuesday following earnings from retail giants Walmart and Home Depot and sales data that showed consumers continued to spend at a brisk pace in April.
Retail sales were up 0.9% last month, increasing for the fourth straight month. The Commerce Department said that spending on bars, restaurants, and clothing increased while grocery and home improvement spending declined.
Morgan Stanley in a report said there's a 27% chance of recession in the US in the next 12 months — that forecast is up from just 5% two months ago.
"It now appears that inflation is broadening out and has the potential to stay higher for longer. This is a scenario that places upward pressure on longer-run inflation expectations and keeps the Fed in a policy acceleration mode," Morgan Stanley investment chief Lisa Shalett said in a note.
Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday:
- S&P 500: 4,066.63, up 1.46%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,599.71, up 1.17% (376.29 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 11,887.94, up 1.93%
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway added positions in Chevron on Citigroup, while shedding Verizon stock, according to his first-quarter portfolio update. Berkshire also sold the last of its Wells Fargo shares and more than quadrupled its Activision Blizzard stake.
Following the implosion of Terra, the token's founder, Do Kwon, said he wants to build another blockchain from its network's ashes. But Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the collapse of the stablecoin has accelerated the need for lawmakers to speed up crypto regulation.
Meanwhile, oil executives from Chevron and Woodside Petroleum predicted that Russia will be cut off from global energy markets once Europe weans off its supplies.
Oil moved higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.19% to $114.37 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved up 0.19% to $114.46 a barrel.
Gold edged higher 0.78% to 1,828.20 per ounce. The 10-year yield rose 0.8 basis points to 2.959%.
Bitcoin climbed 2.4% to $30.412.95.