Stocks Little Changed after Economic Data

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, after data showed consumer prices rose for the first time in
three months, while industrial production fell in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 0.26
points, to 17,482.75. The S&P 500 was up 0.55 points, or 0.03%, to 2,053.74. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5.46 points, or 0.11%, to 4,990.08.

The consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in October after falling the prior two months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Prices at the pump advanced 0.4 percent last month, but gas costs have plunged 27.8 percent from a year ago.

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that industrial production fell 0.2% in October. On the positive side, the
manufacturing sector showed some improvement in October, advancing 0.4% after two straight monthly declines.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported slightly stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings on Tuesday as it booked its
fifth straight gain in U.S. same-store sales. Net profit attributable to the world’s largest retailer fell to
$3.304 billion, or $1.03 per share, in the third quarter ended on Oct. 31 from $3.711 billion, or $1.15 per
share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected 98 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.

Oil prices rose in volatile trade on Tuesday, as markets weighed the continuing oversupply of crude against
the increased geopolitical uncertainty. Brent crude rose 1% to $45.04 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures
exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up 0.5% at $41.92 a barrel.

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