(CNBC) -- U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday after a strong October retail sales report and better-than-expected third-quarter results from Home Depot and Walmart signaled the U.S. consumer is still ramping up spending even in the face of rising prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial average added 54.77 points, or 0.15%, to 36,142.22. The S&P 500 gained 0.39% to 4,700.90, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.76% to 15,973.86. The major averages have been stuck in a rut in recent days after touching records earlier this month. The Dow sits 1.4% away from its record while the S&P and Nasdaq are within 1% of theirs.
The latest retail sales figures for October showed consumers were increasing their spending, with sales jumping 1.7%. That compares to a 0.8% increase in the prior month. The report showed broad strength in a number of categories from autos to sporting goods. Online sales were up 10.2% from a year ago. The gains came even as consumer prices surged 6.2% year-over-year last month, inflation not seen since the 1990s.
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