Stocks gain as Macy's boosts retailers
U.S. stocks climbed on Wednesday as traders shrugged off rising Treasury yields and Macy's earnings lifted retailers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 62.52 points, or 0.25%, to 24,768.93. The S&P 500 rose 11.01 points, or 0.4%, to 2,722.46. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 46.67 points, or 0.63%, to 7,398.30.
Macy's reported stronger first-quarter earnings and revenue than expected, and the retailer raised its full-year outlook. Shares rallied 10.8%, while the broader consumer sectors helped lead the market higher.
The Russell 2000, a small-cap stock market index, touched its highest level ever during the session as a climbing dollar encouraged investors to move more money into smaller-cap stocks, which generally have less overseas exposure than the large-cap multinational stocks
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43956.92 | +548.45 | +1.26% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5960.02 | +42.91 | +0.73% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 19012.190115 | +46.05 | +0.24% |
North Korea canceled a high-level meeting with South Korea on Wednesday over U.S.-South Korean military drills and says it has no interest in the summit with Trump if it's going to be a "one-sided" affair where it's pressured to give up its nukes, according to the Associated Press.
Wednesday morning, the latest reading on the housing sector was released, which showed home-builder permits fell 1.8% in April to a 1.35 million rate while housing starts dropped 3.7% in April to a 1.29 million rate. Other economic data included U.S. industrial capacity which rose to 78 in April from a revised 77.6 in March.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was slightly higher after climbing to a 7-year high on Tuesday.
In commodities, gold settled fractionally higher after closing at its lowest price of the year on Tuesday.
U.S. crude rose 18 cents to $71.49 a barrel.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin contributed to this article.