By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- U.S. stock markets opened mostly higher on Tuesday after a strong retail sales report for October and robust earnings from major retailers again indicated that the economy is strong enough to withstand the removal of extreme monetary stimulus.
Retail sales rose by 1.7% in October, their sharpest monthly rise since March, with a notable rebound in auto sales, a category that had suffered in previous months from a shortage of inventory due to the inability of chipmakers to keep pace with raging demand for electronics. Industrial production data released separately showed an 11% monthly increase in vehicle production.
The macro numbers found clear echoes in stronger-than-expected quarterly results from Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and - in particular Home Depot (NYSE:HD). Walmart's comparable store sales rose 9.2% on the year, as the company succeeded in pushing through price increases and store visits recovered from the effects of the pandemic. The stock still fell 1.9% to its lowest in a month, on concerns that early holiday shopping may cannibalize the fourth quarter's numbers.
By 9:40 AM ET (1440 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average, dominated by old-world cyclical stocks, was up 142 points, or 0.4%, at 36,229 points. The S&P 500 was up just over 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite was up a little less than that.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD) stock rose 3.0% after its results profited from sustained demand from builders for tools and materials, suggesting that the boom in home improvement and construction still has plenty of legs yet. In a not-unrelated development, U.S. federal agencies are set to raise the ceiling for mortgage loans that they will back to nearly $1 million later this month, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The National Association of Home Builders' monthly report on the housing market is due at 10 AM ET.
Electric vehicle stocks were conspicuously strong again, with Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) stock and Lucid (NASDAQ:LCID) stock both rising 6.8% against a backdrop of euphoria as the two companies begin commercial deliveries. Lucid said after the close on Monday that its order book had grown 5% to 13,000. With a market capitalization of $72 billlion, that equates to over $5 million of market value that the company has so far either sold or agreed to sell.
Rivian, for its part, has quickly become the third-most valuable automotive company in the world within a week of its listing. It is yet to sell a single vehicle. Even investment guru Cathie Wood, known for her tolerance of highly-priced long-duration stocks, has said her ARK Investment Fund won't be buying Rivian for the foreseeable future.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock meanwhile rose 3.4%, as its ebullient fan base snapped up stock being disposed of by CEO Elon Musk. Tesla critic and noted short-seller Michael Burry closed his short position on the stock recently, according to a filing from his Scion Capital hedge fund that was published on Monday.