By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 jumped Tuesday to near record highs, led by retailers following a rally in Home Depot After data revealed that consumer spending was buoyant, optimism about the economy has remained.

Just 0.65% of the stock market rose to 4,713.20. That’s just shy of its historic high of 4,718.50. Nasdaq increased 0.76% to 0.56%. This is 201 more points than the 0.66% that rose 0.65%.

Home Depot (NYSE) rose more than 5% to help the wider retail sector improve after it reported stronger-than-expected results for the third quarter, which were attributed to higher prices.

Home Depot beat on both the top and bottom lines, with comparable U.S. store sales climbing 5.5% ahead of expectations for 0.9%. 

Walmart (NYSE 🙂 lifted its full year earnings guidance and reported better than expected third-quarter results. However, its shares fell 2%. 

Lowe’s (NYSE:) and Target Corporation (NYSE) and both were in the green before Wednesday’s release of their quarterly results. 

The signs that consumers are still spending despite high inflation also support sentiment about retail stock performance. 

According to the Commerce Department, retail sales increased by 1.4% on Tuesday. Economists estimate a 2.2% increase.  The retail sales control group – which has a larger impact on U.S. GDP –   ahead of expectations for a 0.9% rise. 

“Despite soaring prices and deteriorating consumer sentiment, there is absolutely no evidence of consumers pulling back,” Jefferies said in a note.

The wider market also supports tech as chip stocks such as Qualcomm (NASDAQ) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, (NASDAQ) made gains.

Qualcomm jumped more than 3% after winning a new deal to supply its Snapdragon chips to BMW for the automaker’s automated driving systems.

On the same day that oil prices rose again, energy was also at the top of the list despite concerns growing about the impact of Covid-19 European restrictions on oil demand. 

Although energy is at 54%, Wall Street analysts suggest it might be time for investors to profit from the sector.0Wells Fargo 

“While the energy sector could continue to perform well in 2022, we believe it is prudent to take profits…,” {0Wells Fargo} said in a note on Monday. 

Tesla (NASDAQ:) rose more than 3% shrugging off reports JPMorgan had sued the electric automaker, seeking a $162 million payment for warrants that expired above their strike price following wild moves in the company’s stock price after founder Elon Musk’s tweet in 2018 threatening to take the EV company private.

Elsewhere in the EV sector, Lucid Group (NASDAQ:) confirmed its 2022 production guidance, and reported more than 17,000 reservations for its debut electric vehicle following 13,000 reservations in the prior quarter. Its shares jumped 5%.

Other news: Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ): The stock fell over 4%, adding to recent losses. Atlantic Equities had downgraded it to neutral from buy after citing lackluster tailwinds in the stock’s future.

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:) climbed nearly 1% after announcing that it intends to file an emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 treatment pill to the Food and Drug Administration as soon as Tuesday.