By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- The S&P 500 closed at its highest ever, wiping out all losses since the coronavirus hit markets earlier this year. The Nasdaq also closed at a record, but the Dow couldn't pull off a win for a second day in a row.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 67 points, or 0.24% and the S&P 500 was up 0.22%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.73%.
The record high surpassed by the S&P 500 on Tuesday was last seen before the onset of the coronavirus crisis in February, with Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) taking the lead and rising more than 4%.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT)'s online sales doubled in a record, but as stimulus money waned, revenue slowed and shares traded lower. The Home Depot (NYSE:HD) similarly reported terrific sales, but with the outlook uncertain, shares also fell. Retailer Kohls Corp (NYSE:KSS) got hammered on its outlook, despite better-than-expected results.
Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) joined some of the investors of TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, in pursuing a bid for the popular short-video app's operations in North America, Australia and New Zealand, Reuters said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Teva Pharma Industries Ltd ADR (NYSE:TEVA) fell after the U.S. government said it is suing the Israeli company for false claims.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose some more on Tuesday, rallying about 40% over the past week, since it approved a five-for-one stock split to make ownership more accessible. The split goes into effect Aug. 31.
Gold futures on Comex broke above $2,020 an ounce for the first time in a week, and futures and spot prices of the metal for immediate delivery rose about 1% each, adding to Monday’s gain of 2% or more.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. home building accelerated by the most in nearly four years in July in the latest sign the housing sector is emerging as one of the few areas of strength in an economy suffering a record slowdown. That further added to market optimism.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.