Retail helps lift S&P to more than two-month high
STORY: U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday - with the S&P 500 closing at its highest level in 2-1/2 months - as Best Buy buoyed hopes of a healthier-than-expected holiday season.
The Dow gained almost 1.2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both added nearly 1.4%.
Best Buy was the best performing stock on the S&P, gaining close to 13% after the retailer forecast a smaller drop in annual sales than previously announced and expressed confidence that a ramp up in deals and discounts will entice more customers.
Geeta Sharma is founder and investment manager of AlphasFuture.
“I think the consumer is looking for great deals, and wherever they’re finding them they are going ahead and still spending. [FLASH] It looks like the consumer is very strong, the job market is good, the wage increases have been coming through, so we are not seeing much decline in demand despite the inflation. And there is some normalization after the pandemic, after re-opening, there is some normalization of the demand that got pulled forward in the pandemic. But right now it’s – what we have right now is clearly not recession signals.”
Still, Dollar Tree tumbled almost 8% as the worst performing S&P 500 component, as price cuts to attract deal-hunters pressured margins, leading the discount retailer to cut its annual profit forecast for the second time.
In other movers, Manchester United shares jumped late in the session after Sky News reported the Glazer family, which owns the soccer team, was exploring financial options that could include an outright sale.
