Wall Street starts day slightly higher on upbeat sales data

Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day higher on Tuesday as the better-than-expected retail sales data from the U.S. coupled with the easing geopolitical tension allowed investors to continue to invest in riskier assets.

"North Korea leader Kim Jong Un appears to have backed away from a threat to fire missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, opting instead to wait and see what the "foolish Yankees" do next," CNN reported earlier in the session, suggesting that the tension between the United States and North Korea was receding. Commenting on this recent development, "I think it is a bit of a follow through on North Korea that has stepped back, things are back to somewhat normal," Mark Spellman, portfolio manager at Alpine Funds in New York, told Reuters.

On the other hand, data from the U.S. on Tuesday revealed that retail sales increased by 0.6% on a monthly basis in July, recording its best percentage growth since February.

Following the positive start, however, the indexes struggled to extend their gains as some of the big corporations reported softer-than-expected earnings numbers. Dick's Sporting Goods and Coach lost more than 6% as their sales and profit data missed the market estimates. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat on the day at 21,996.02, the S&P 500 was down 0.25 points at 2,463.01, and the Nasdaq Composite was losing 6 points, or 0.1%, at 6,333.50.

Today's data from the U.S.

• US: Retail sales for July 2017 were $478.9 billion, an increase of 0.6% from June
• NY Fed: Business conditions index climbed fifteen points to 25.2, highest level in nearly 3 years
• US: Prices for US imports edged up 0.1% in July
• US: Manufacturers’ & trade inventories estimated at $1,869.3 bln, up 0.5% from May 2017
• US: Consumer demand started the third quarter on a strong footing - Wells Fargo