US stocks boosted by healthy retail sales data; Fed meeting starts

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday as a stronger-than-expected retail sales report helped allay fears of a sharp economic slowdown ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest policy-setting meeting.

At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 93 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 gained 26 points, or 0.5%, and NASDAQ Composite climbed 135 points, or 0.8%. Retail sales unexpectedly rise in August

Data released earlier Tuesday showed that US retail sales rose 0.1% in August on a monthly basis, better than the expected 0.2% decrease, after having climbed a revised 1.1% the prior month.

This number helped reassure investors that the consumer remained relatively healthy, which could prevent a sharp economic slowdown given the importance of the retail sector to the U.S. economy.  

This economic news comes as the Federal Reserve starts its two-day policy-setting meeting, which is expected to result in a cut to interest rates at its conclusion on Wednesday.

Traders were seen pricing in a 68% chance for a 50 bps reduction and a 32% chance for a 25 bps cut, CME Fedwatch showed.

Uncertainty over the scale of the cut had spurred some volatility on Wall Street in recent sessions, although both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained close to record highs. 

Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the conclusion of the two-day Fed meeting will be studied carefully, as investors seek guidance of the likely extent of the easing cycle that could bring more interest rate cuts in the coming months.  Intel surges on foundry plans

In the corporate sector, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC ) rallied over 3% after the chipmaker announced plans to spin off its foundry business, and that it will sell off part of its stake in Altera. 

The plan will see Intel turn its foundry business into a unit with its own board, and will also allow the cash-burning unit to raise capital from external investors. 

The move comes just a month after Intel clocked heavy share losses on disappointing quarterly earnings.

Intel also announced a deal to make a custom chip for Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN ) web services unit.

Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT ) rose 1.7% after the software giant announced a $60 billion share buyback program, and also hiked its quarterly dividend by 10%.  Crude muted ahead of API data

Crude prices edged higher Tuesday, continuing to build on the previous gains caused by the disruption to U.S. output in the wake of Hurricane Francine, ahead of the latest figures of the country’s crude stockpiles.

By 09:35 ET, the Brent contract climbed 0.1% to $72.80 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 0.2% higher at $69.18 per barrel.

Both contracts settled higher on Monday in the aftermath of the latest hurricane to impact the Gulf of Mexico crude-producing region, and as traders awaited the start of an easing cycle by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

More than 12% of crude production and 16% of natural gas output in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico remained offline, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Monday.

The American Petroleum Institute  is set to reveal its weekly inventory data later in the session, ahead of the official figures  on Wednesday, and traders are expecting another drop in U.S. crude stockpiles.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com