FINANCIAL MARKETS

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. Utilities and smaller companies also climbed, while banks edged higher as investors prepared for the financial sector to start reporting its third-quarter results in a few days. 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. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 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. WalMart was responsible for almost half of that gain. 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 bought online retailer Jet for $3 billion last year and has also snapped up ModCloth and Bonobos and is aiming to expand online grocery sales as well. On Tuesday Wal-Mart Stores gained $3.60, or 4.5 percent, to $84.13. Target rose $1.35, or 2.4 percent, to $57.60 and Amazon declined $3.79 to $987.20 after a four-day winning streak. 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. Instead, Honeywell will 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 lost 29 cents to $143.31. 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. The dollar slipped to 112.37 yen from 112.69 yen. The euro rose to $1.1804 from $1.1752.