Stocks rise on Wal-Mart, airlines

NEW YORK — A big jump for Wal-Mart helped the Dow Jones industrial average set a record Tuesday, while gains for other retailers and airlines sent other stock indexes higher as well.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.91 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,550.64. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 69.61 points, or 0.3 percent, to 22,830.68. The Nasdaq composite picked up 7.52 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,587.25. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 4.44 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,508.01.

Wal-Mart notched its biggest gain in almost a year and a half after the company said it expects its digital sales to rise 40 percent in its next fiscal year. It also plans to buy back $20 billion in stock over two years.

Wal-Mart has invested billions in its e-commerce business in recent years. Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, said Wal-Mart’s online business is critical to its survival, so investors were glad to see signs of success.

“There’s very little retail loyalty now,” she said. “Consumers just want choice, price and convenience.”

Airline shares 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 past few months. Investors are worried about extensive discounts on ticket prices, but so far their third-quarter results look better than expected.

United jumped $3.02, or 4.7 percent, to $67.72 and American rose $2.43, or 4.8 percent, to $53.03. Delta gave a positive update of its own a week ago, and on Tuesday it added 96 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $52.70.

Chipmaker Nvidia will work with Deutsche Post DHL to start testing autonomous delivery trucks in 2018. The stock rose $3.54, or 1.9 percent, to $188.93. Nvidia is up tenfold over the past 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. The shares fell $1.50, or 1.5 percent, to $98.62. Intel, one of Delphi’s partners in that business, shed 21 cents to $39.65.

Industrial conglomerate Honeywell said it will split up. It will keep its lucrative aerospace business, which activist investors pushed the company to spin off last year. Honeywell said it plans to make its transportation business one separate company. Its home heating, ventilation and security systems and fire prevention unit and its global distribution business will become a third company. Honeywell shares fell 29 cents to $143.31.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose $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.

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.

Bond prices moved higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.35 percent from 2.36 percent.