Stocks rose higher Tuesday as market participants weighed better-than-expected Q2 earnings reports and muted monthly U.S. retail sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 350 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite added 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.71% or +32.19 points to 4,554.98
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +1.06% or +366.58 points to 34,951.93
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.76% or +108.69 points to 14,353.64
Driving the market higher, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) both reported second-quarter earnings that topped expectations. BAC benefited from higher interest rates that boosted its income, while MS posted record revenue in its wealth management segment.
"We continue to see a healthy U.S. economy that is growing at a slower pace, with a resilient job market," BAC CEO Brian Moynihan said in a release. "Continued organic client growth and client activity across our businesses complemented beneficial impacts of higher interest rates."
Other companies like Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC), FB Financial (NYSE: FBK), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK) all rose higher following strong earnings reports on Tuesday.
Also in the spotlight, U.S. retail sales rose but at a weaker-than-expected rate in June, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Sales rose 0.2% for the month compared to May, and rose 0.2% when excluding auto sales -- both below estimates.
In other economic news, homebuilder confidence rose again in July, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The month's reading rose to 56 from 55 in June, marking the seventh consecutive month of gains and the highest level since June 2022.
"The lack of resale inventory means prospective home buyers who have not been priced out of the market continue to seek out new construction in greater numbers," said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey in a statement.
"At the same time, builders are troubled over rising mortgage rates approaching 7% and continue to grapple with supply-side challenges, including ongoing scarcity of electrical transformer equipment and growing concerns about lot availability," Huey added.
Elsewhere, Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) announced price increase for its Peacock streaming platform late Monday, increasing the monthly fee for the first time by $1 to $5.99 for the ad-supported tier and by $2 to $11.99 for the mostly ad-free tier. The price hikes will impact existing customers on August 17, and will be effective immediately for new subscribers.
Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprus said BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) is set to reach assets of $10 trillion in the near-term and $15 trillion in five years.
"BLK's breadth of capabilities, unrivaled distribution prowess and top brand uniquely position the firm to capture key growth zones over the next several years in fixed income, cash mgmt, private markets and Aladdin technology. This should result in the firm's $9 trillion of AUM today expanding to $10 trillion in the next few quarters, and surpassing $15 trillion in 5-years," Cyprys wrote in a note.
Looking ahead, traders will react to earnings from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) on Wednesday.