WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Extending the upward move seen over the two previous
sessions, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. The Dow led the
charge, surging to a new record closing high.

The Dow jumped 742.76 points or 1.9 percent to 40,954.48, the S&P 500 climbed
35.98 points or 0.6 percent to a new record closing high of 5,667.20 and the
Nasdaq rose 36.77 points or 0.2 percent to 18,509.34.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to some of the
latest earnings news, with Dow component UnitedHealth (UNH) moving sharply
higher after reporting second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

Bank of America (BAC) also moved notably higher after the financial giant
reported better than expected second quarter earnings.

Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) also turned positive after seeing initial weakness
after the company reported better than expected second quarter earnings.

Traders also reacted positively to the latest U.S. economic news, including a
Commerce Department report showing U.S. retail sales came in unchanged in the
month of June.

The Commerce Department said retail sales came in flat in June after rising by
an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in May.

Economists had expected retail sales to come in unchanged compared to the 0.1
percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a sharp drop in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales
climbed by 0.4 percent in June after inching up by 0.1 percent in May. Ex-auto
sales were expected to creep up by 0.1 percent.

'Judging by the positive market reaction to the US retail sales data, it appears
that investors are focusing on the economic strength for now, while also
maintaining a strong belief that monetary policy starts to ease after the
summer,' said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

The Labor Department also released a report showing import prices in the U.S.
were unexpectedly flat in the month of June.

The report said import prices were unchanged in June after dipping by a revised
0.2 percent in May. Economists had expected import prices to rise by 0.2 percent
compared to the 0.4 percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices declined by 0.5 percent in
June after falling by a revised 0.7 percent in May.

Export prices were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6
percent decrease originally reported for the previous month.

Sector News

Housing stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the
Philadelphia Housing Sector Index spiking by 5.3 percent to a record closing
high.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates contributed to the strength in the
sector despite a report from the National Association of Home Builders showing
an unexpected dip in homebuilder confidence in the month of July.

Gold stocks are also saw significant strength amid a sharp increase by the price
of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.4 percent.
The index reached a more than two-year closing high.

Considerable strength was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the
3.3 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.

Banking, biotechnology and telecom stocks also saw notable strength on the day,
moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a
mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by
0.2 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent, while
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day.
While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index fell by
0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries rebounded following the pullback seen in the
previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which
moves opposite of its price, fell 6.2 basis points to 4.167 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by reaction to reports on industrial
production and housing starts as well as the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.



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