(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks rallied and ended at their highest points of the year Tuesday after stronger than expected retail sales data boosted commodity shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56.61 points or 0.59% to finish at 9,683.41. The S&P 500 added 3.29 points or 0.31% to end at 1,052.63. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 10.86 points or 0.31% to 2,102.64.
According to Department of Commerce, retail sales climbed 2.7% in August. Economists had forecast retail sales to increase 2%.
A release by Department of Labor on Tuesday showed U.S. producer prices rose 1.7% in August while core producer prices declined 0.2% in the month. Economists expected a rise of 0.8% in PPI, and a 0.1% increase in the core PPI.
The Empire State index, a regional read on manufacturing, climbed to 18.8 in September, exceeding forecasts for a rise to 15.
The Commerce of Department said that business inventories fell 1% in July after falling 1.1% previously. Economists expected inventories to fall 0.9%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Tuesday that the recession is "very likely over," but the job market is likely to remain depressed for some time.
Alcoa (NYSE:
AA), the largest US aluminum maker,$1.05 or 8.11% to $13.99.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:
CAT) soared $2.93 or 6.01% to $51.70.
Shares of diversified US firm General Electric Co. (NYSE:
GE) surged 65 cents or 4.23% to $16.
Airplane maker Boeing Co. (NYSE:
BA) gained $1.10 or 2.16% to $52.07.
Among financials, shares of American Express (NYSE:
AXP) rallied 73 cents or 2.15% to $34.65.
According to media reports, the U.S. Treasury Department and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:
C) have begun discussing how to sell the 34 percent stake that the government acquired as part of its rescue program. Shares tumbled 40 cents or 8.85% to $4.12.
Early on Tuesday, Best buy (NYSE:
BBY) reported that second quarter net income slipped to $158 million, or 37 cents a share, from $202 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter ended Aug. 29 climbed to $11 billion from $9.8 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to earn 41 cents a share on sales of $10.81 billion. The largest U.S. electronics chain also boosted the bottom end of its full-year forecast to profit excluding items of $2.70 to $3 a share. Shares of the company plunged $2.09 or 5.17% to $38.12.
Kroger Co. (NYSE:
KR) reported quarterly results that missed analyst estimates. Second-quarter net income dropped nearly 8% to $254.4 million, or 39 cents per share, from $276.5 million, or 42 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue dropped 2.2% to $18.1 billion. Shares of the company slid $1.65 or 7.46% to $20.46.
European stocks settled up. The UK FTSE 23.28 points or 0.46% to 5,018.85.The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.16% and 0.58%.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 fell 69.34 points or 0.66% to 10,444.33. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong rose 91.86 points or 0.44% to 21,161.42.
NYMEX crude oil for October delivery climbed $2.07 to settle at $70.93 a barrel .
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
