NEW YORK — A day of broad swings in the stock market ended with modest gains Tuesday, as investors balanced an increase in U.S. retail sales with Europe’s lingering debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 17 points.
The Dow bounced between gains and losses for much of the day. It had been down as many as 78 points at noon and up as much as 86 during a late-afternoon rally that fizzled just before the market closed.
Technology stocks had the biggest gains. Intel rose 2.9 percent a day after Warren Buffett revealed that his company, Berkshire Hathaway, had bought a stake in Intel. Hewlett-Packard rose 3.4 percent, the most among the Dow’s 30 stocks.
Americans spent more on autos, electronics and building supplies in October, raising retail sales for a fifth straight month. Sales increased 0.5 percent from the previous month, a faster rate than economists expected and the latest indication that the U.S. economy is likely to avoid another recession.
“It was good to hear about retail sales,” Randy Bateman, chief investment officer of Huntington Asset Management in Columbus, Ohio, said in a telephone interview. “People are getting tired of hearing about Europe. They are trying to resolve their issues. With Mario (Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti), Italy has an economist. Europe will muddle through.”
The retail-sales report helped the U.S. stock market “show a certain degree of resilience in the wake of the negative headlines out of Europe,” said Todd Salamone, director of research at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.
But Europe’s debt woes continued to weigh on markets. Higher interest rates on government debt issued by Italy, Spain and other countries rattled European stock markets Tuesday. The interest rate on Italy’s 10-year bond jumped back above 7 percent, a dangerously high level. When that rate crossed the 7 percent threshold last week, it raised worries about Italy’s ability to manage its debts. Greece, Ireland and Portugal had to get rescued by international lenders when their borrowing rates crossed the same level.
The Dow rose 17.18 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,096.16. The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 6.02, or 0.5 percent, to 1,257.81. The Nasdaq added 28.98, or 1.1 percent, to 2,686.20.
The prices of assets commonly used as havens from market turmoil, such as U.S. government debt and gold, held steady.
