WASHINGTON: Wall Street returned to its record setting ways on Tuesday following a shallow pullback on Monday.The three main stock indices all set new intraday highs within minutes of the opening bell – powered by gains in the energy, industrial and consumer staples sectors.The S&P 500 gained 0.4 per cent to 2555.12 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average tacked on 0.3 per cent to 22,835.67. The Nasdaq Composite also rose by a similar margin to 6,602.85.
Energy stocks were among the day’s top performers, with the sector up 0.8 per cent. Both prices for Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate are higher after Saudi Arabia said yesterday that it would further curb oil exports in a bid to reduce the global supply glut. The pullback in the dollar – which makes crude cheaper for foreign buyer – is also helping to prop up oil prices. The DXY index, which measures the buck against a basket of its peers, is down 0.5 per cent today. There was also no shortage of corporate news to draw out the punters. Walmart, the $248.2bn big box retailer surged 4 per cent after it issued an upbeat trading update and announced a new $20bn share buyback. Procter & Gamble is up 0.8 per cent ahead of an eagerly awaited shareholder vote on whether to put activist investor Nelson Peltz on the board despite the company’s objection. Pfizer advanced 0.2 per cent after it said it was looking to sell or spin off its consumer healthcare business.
