Stocks surged on Tuesday as investor sentiment was boosted by record economic data and a new coronavirus breakthrough, sending Wall Street into a rally. U.S. retail sales increased 17.7% in May from April's record decline of 16.4%, according to data from the Commerce Department. The sales increase was more than double what consensus economists expected and showed that economic recovery may occur faster than previously predicted. Meanwhile, a drug trial published on Tuesday showed that the steroid Dexamehtasone reduces coronavirus deaths in patients with serve infection.
On Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell began his delivery of his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress. In his prepared remarks, Powell noted that economic recovery is closely connected with public sentiment around the virus. Powell stated: "Significant uncertainty remains about the timing and strength of the recovery. Much of that economic uncertainty comes from uncertainty about the path of the disease and the effects of measure to contain it. Until the public is confident that the disease is contained, a full recovery is unlikely."
Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.90% or +58.15 points to 3,124.74
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +2.04% or +526.82 points to 26,289.98
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +1.75% or +169.84 points to 9,895.87
Major stock news, construction stocks--Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Granite Construction (NYSE: GVA), Summit Materials (NYSE: SUM) and Vulcan Materials (NYSE: VMC)--all gained after a Bloomberg News report stated that the White House will propose a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure proposal. Travel stocks--American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL), Carnival (NYSE: CCL), Delta (NYSE: DAL), Norwegian (NYSE: NCLH), Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL), Southwest (NYSE: LUV) and Untied (NASDAQ: UAL)--all gained as investors moved more money back into the coronavirus-beaten travel industry.
In Stock Sector News, every sector continued to gain from Monday's session. The performance gains were as follows: Energy +2.82%, Health Care +2.44%, Information Technology +2.16%, Materials +2.10%, Consumer Discretionary +2.00%, Industrials +1.94%, Real Estate +1.75%, Consumer Staples +1.59%, Financials +1.43%, Communication Services +1.22% and Utilities +0.46%.
In Commodity and Currency News, crude oil futures continue to increase steadily as anticipated demand begins to stabilize. West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) gained around 2% to price at $38 per barrel and Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) increased 2.5% to price around $41 per barrel. Gold (NYSE: GLD) climbed 0.4% on Tuesday, bringing the metal's price to about $1,735 per ounce. Finally, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) gained slightly, with the DXY Index bumping up 0.05%.
As the market heads into the mid-week, investors will focus on more economic data surrounding reopening and coronavirus headlines as outbreaks continue to rise across the United States.