NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are edging higher on Tuesday as a strong forecast from Wal-Mart lifts retailers and energy companies rise with the price of crude oil. Airlines are climbing after United Continental and American gave solid forecasts for the current quarter. Consumer products company Procter & Gamble is slipping after saying its shareholders did not elect activist investor Nelson Peltz to its board of directors.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,548 as of 3:15 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 51 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,812, on pace for another record high. Wal-Mart was responsible for most of that gain. The Nasdaq composite rose 2 points to 6,582. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,506.
RETAIL SURGE: Wal-Mart climbed after it said it expects digital sales to rise 40 percent next year. The company has made a string of acquisitions, including online retailer Jet, as it tries ramp up its online sales to compete with Amazon.com. Wal-Mart also said it plans to buy back $20 billion of its own stock. Wal-Mart gained $4.31, or 5.4 percent, to $84.85. Target rose $1.27, or 2.2 percent, to $57.52 and Amazon declined $7.55 to $983.44.
THE QUOTE: Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, said Wal-Mart’s online business is critical to its survival, so investors are glad to see signs of success.
“There’s very little retail loyalty now,” she said. “Consumers just want choice, price and convenience.”
TAKEOFF: Airlines rose after American raised an important revenue forecast and United Continental predicted bigger profit margins. Airlines have been stung by a series of hurricanes that affected the Southeastern U.S. over the last few months. Investors are worried about extensive discounts on ticket prices, but so far their third-quarter results look better than expected.
United jumped $3.56, or 5.5 percent, to $68.26 and American rose $2.57, or 5.1 percent, to $53.17. Delta gave a positive update of its own a week ago, and on Tuesday it picked up $1.30, or 2.5 percent, to $53.04.
KNOCK-KNOCK: Procter & Gamble stumbled after saying its shareholders did not elect Peltz to its board. Preliminary vote totals showed a close result and Peltz did not immediately concede defeat.
Peltz, of Trian Fund Management, says the company’s performance has been disappointing for the last decade. The maker of Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste urged shareholders to vote against Peltz and says he hasn’t offered any specific ideas. The stock fell $1.06, or 1.2 percent, to $91.06 after Procter & Gamble’s announcement.
BREAKUPS: Industrial conglomerate Honeywell said it will split up. It will keep its aerospace business, while its transportation business will become a separate company. Honeywell’s home heating, ventilation and security systems and fire prevention unit and its global distribution business will become a third company. Honeywell lost 28 cents to $143.32.
Pfizer said it might sell or spin off its consumer products business, which owns brands like ChapStick, Advil, Robitussin and Preparation H. It expects to make a decision next year. Pfizer rose 9 cents to $36.23.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil added $1.34, or 2.7 percent, to $50.92 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 82 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $56.61 a barrel in London.
Wholesale gasoline added 3 cents to $1.59 a gallon. Heating oil picked up 3 cents to $1.76 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 6 cents to $2.89 per 1,000 cubic feet.
CARS AND CHIPS: Chipmaker Nvidia will work with Deutsche Post DHL to start testing autonomous delivery trucks in 2018. The stock rose $3.58, or 1.9 percent, to $188.97. It’s climbed more than 1,000 percent in three years.
Automotive parts and electronics maker Delphi slumped. Delphi has announced several partnerships to develop and test autonomous cars, including a pact with a French transport company. It lost $1.23, or 1.2 percent, to $98.89. Intel, one of Delphi’s partners in that business, shed 33 cents to $39.53.
CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 112.37 yen from 112.69 yen. The euro rose to $1.1804 from $1.1752.
METALS: Gold climbed $8.80 to $1,293.80 an ounce and silver jumped 24 cents to $17.21 an ounce. Copper rose 3 cents to $3.06 a pound.
BONDS: Bond prices moved higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.34 percent from 2.36 percent.
OVERSEAS: Germany’s DAX slipped 0.2 percent while Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.4 percent. The CAC 40 in France fell slightly. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6 percent to its highest close in 21 years. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7 percent after a weeklong holiday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed 0.6 percent.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jay