NEW YORK (AP) -- The Standard & Poor's 500 index crossed above 1,900 for the first time Tuesday as investors assessed news on retail sales. DIRECTV gained on reports that AT&T is poised to buy the company for nearly $50 billion.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose four points, or 0.2%, to 1,900 as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 30 points, or 0.1%, to 16,725. The Nasdaq composite gained five points, or 0.1%, to 4,146.
RECORD DAY: The S&P 500 and Dow both closed at record levels Monday as investors regained their appetite for riskier stocks. Stocks such as Twitter and Facebook, which had plunged in March and April, were among the big gainers. The Russell 2000, an index made up of small companies, climbed the most in two months.
RETAIL IS DETAIL: Growth of U.S. retail sales slowed in April as consumers shopped less online and cut back on purchases of furniture and electronics. The Commerce Department says retail sales rose 0.1% last month after surging 1.5% in March. The March increase followed a harsh winter that curtailed shopping.
DISH DEAL: DirecTV rose $2.74, or 3.1%, to $89.98 on reports that AT&T was close to completing a takeover of the satellite-television provider. The Wall Street Journal reported that a deal could be reached within two weeks, or sooner, and would value DirecTV at nearly $50 billion.
FADING BEAUTY: Elizabeth Arden plunged $5.36, or 15%, to $30.03 after the beauty products company reported an unexpected quarterly loss and disclosed it has hired Goldman Sachs to help it explore its strategic alternatives.
BONDS AND COMMODITIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped to 2.61% from 2.66% late Monday. The price of oil rose $0.67, or 0.7%, to $101.27 a barrel.
