Stocks Opened Slightly Higher after Walmart, Home Depot Posted Strong Earnings

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, after Walmart and Home Depot each delivered estimates-topping results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 16.03 points, or 0.06%, to 27,860.94. The S&P 500 added 10.61 points, or 0.31%, to 3,392.60. The Nasdaq Composite gained 67.22 points, or 0.60%, to 11,196.95.

Oil futures edged lower on Tuesday as traders looked ahead to data on U.S. crude supplies and a meeting by an OPEC+ panel charged with monitoring the effect of production cuts by major producers. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down 23 cents, or 0.5%, at $42.66 a barrel. October Brent crude was fell 11 cents, or 0.2%, to $45.26 a barrel.

Walmart (WMT) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings results, bolstered by online sales that skyrocketed 97% during the period. Net income totaled $6.48 billion, or $2.27 per share, up from $3.61 billion, or $1.26 per share, last year. Revenue of $137.74 billion was up from $130.38 billion last year.

Home Depot (HD) also reported better than expected second-quarter results, with comparable sales growth of 23.4% in the three-month period more than double the 11.4% growth rate expected. Net income for the quarter to Aug. 2 grew to $4.33 billion, or $4.02 a share, from $3.48 billion, or $3.17 a share, in the year-ago period. Same-store sales increased 23.4%.

Construction of new U.S. homes surged 22.6% last month as homebuilders bounced back from a lull induced by the coronavirus pandemic. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that new homes were started an annual pace of nearly 1.5 million in July, highest since February and well above what economists were expecting.