U.S. stocks ended little changed Tuesday after a late-afternoon slump wiped out much of the market’s gains from earlier in the day.
Investors weighed mixed results from Walmart, Home Depot and other big U.S. retailers, as well as new data on inflation. Energy stocks were among the biggest decliners as oil prices closed lower.
“You saw oil prices come down, and the market has been following oil prices,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. “The market moved up handsomely (Monday), so we’re not losing all of the gains.”
The Dow Jones industrial average added 6.49 points, or 0.04 percent, to 17,489.50. Earlier, the average had been up more than 116 points.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 2.75 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,050.44. The index had briefly moved into positive territory for the year. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.40 points, or 0.03 percent, to 4,986.01.
Investors, who have been worried that sales could be weak this holiday shopping season, sold retailers that reported disappointing quarterly results.
Urban Outfitters fell 3.8 percent after the retailer’s latest quarterly sales fell short. The stock dropped 87 cents to $21.80. Dick’s Sporting Goods fell 9.4 percent after reporting worse-than-expected results and giving a weak outlook. The stock fell $3.85 to $36.96.
Other big retailers fared better. Walmart rose 3.5 percent after the company reported improved customer traffic and an increase in a key sales figure for the third quarter, even as a stronger dollar pressured its performance overseas. The world’s largest retailer issued a forecast for the holiday shopping season that largely beat Wall Street expectations. The stock added $2.05 to $59.92.
Home Depot climbed 4.4 percent after the home-improvement retailer reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue and delivered an upbeat fiscal outlook. The stock rose $5.34 to $126.18.
The energy sector shed 1.2 percent, extending its losses this year to 15.9 percent. The sector — the S&P 500 index’s biggest decliner for the year — has been hurt by the protracted slide in oil prices.
That decline resumed Tuesday. Benchmark U.S. crude oil dropped $1.07 to close at $40.67 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 99 cents to close at $43.57 a barrel in London.
