The S&P 500 on Tuesday barely missed finishing in record territory for the 66th time thus far this year, as stocks in consumer discretionary XLY, +1.58% and information technology XLK, +1.05% supported a broad-market advance. The climb for the session came as retail sales jumped 1.7% in October, the government said, surpassing forecasts for a 1.5% rise and logging the biggest gain since March when households received billions in federal stimulus money. Excluding autos, sales rose 1.4%.
and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD, +4.07%. Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc rose 5.8% after the home-improvement retailer reported fiscal third-quarter profit, net sales and same-store sales that beat expectations.