Investing.com -- Stocks on U.S. equities markets were mixed on Tuesday, as two prominent Wall Street banks outperformed forecasts for quarterly earnings and U.S. retail sales increased for the first time in four months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index rose modestly higher to close in green territory for the fourth time in five sessions, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell slightly for the second straight day to continue its retreat from the near 5,000 level. The Dow gained 59.93 points or 0.33% to 18,036.97, while the NASDAQ fell 10.96 or 0.22% to 4,977.29.
The S&P 500 rose 3.41 points or 0.16% to 2,095.84, as stocks in the Energy, Utilities and Basic Materials sectors led. Only three of 10 sectors closed in the red, as Technology, Consumer Services and Telecommunication stocks lagged.
Boosted by a strong quarter in fixed income and foreign exchange trading, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) reported net profit of $5.91 billion or 1.45 a share, up from $5.27 billion or 1.04 a share from the same period last year. The bank's position in Swiss francs resulted in a 5% or $4.07 billion increase in its fixed income, currencies and commodities division after the Swiss National Bank surprisingly unpegged the franc from the euro in mid-January. JP Morgan rose 0.95 or 1.53% to 63.02.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), however, posted the first quarter of negative earnings in four years. The San Francisco-based multinational bank and financial services company reported earnings of $5.8 billion or 1.04 a share, down from $5.89 billion or 1.05 a share. Wells Fargo still beat analysts' forecast by roughly six cents a share. Shares of Wells Fargo fell 0.40 or 0.73% to 54.19.
The top performer on the Dow was Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which gained 2.30 or 2.16% to 108.80, after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasted an increase in crude oil production to 10.6 million barrels per day by 2020. The worst performer of the day was Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which dropped 0.30 or 0.95% to 31.43, as Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR) shareholders pushed the California-based manufacturer of reconfigurable complex digital circuits to resume merger talks with the tech giant.
Oil & Gas stocks also flourished on the S&P 500, as energy-related companies occupied the top five gainers on the session. Ensco, a London-based Oil & Gas services company, finished as the day's top performer after gaining 1.57 or 6.65% to 25.18. Shares in Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (NYSE:DO), Helmerich & Payne Inc (NYSE:HP), Transocean and Range Resources Corporation (NYSE:RRC) all gained more than 4.5% on the day.
The worst performer was Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN), which fell 6.13 or 4.59% to 127.47 after news publisher Macau Business reported that the Special Administrative Region of China could cap the number of tourists that visit the area each year to 21 million. Wynn Macau reported a decline of more than 30% in quarterly revenues in February.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Fastenal, which gained 1.78 or 4.44% to 41.80 after the industrial safety, construction and supplies reseller posted strong quarterly earnings. Wynn was the worst performer, just behind Altera which lost 1.31 or 2.99% to 42.55.