US stocks trade mixed as investors weigh the biggest retail-sales jump since March

• Stocks were mixed following a climb in US retail sales in October.
• Retail sales came in at 1.7%, outpacing expectations as inflation sticks around a 30-year high.

Stocks were mixed Tuesday after US retail sales climbed by more than anticipated last month while investors assessed hawkish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard as inflation sticks at multi-year highs.

The main indexes on Wall Street came off lower levels after government data showed retail sales rose 1.7% last month to a new record high of $638.2 billion. The print beat the median forecast for a 1.1% jump from economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It report also showed consumer spending picking up from September's pace.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 4,685.34, up 0.05%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 36,177.33, up 0.25% (93.92 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 15,849.27, down 0.02%

The rise in retail sales took place as inflation hovers around 30-year highs. Bullard in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday said he agrees with pricing in the markets for two Fed rate hikes to take place in 2022 and he suggested the central bank could begin raising rates before it finishing its process of tapering asset purchases

Around the markets, gold picked up 0.1% at $1,864.07 per ounce. The 10-year yield rose to 1.629%.

Oil prices gained ground. West Texas Intermediate crude rose by 0.6% at $81.33 per barrel. Brent, oil's international benchmark, picked up 0.5% to $82.43.

Bitcoin fell by 4.5% to $60,897.80.