Close Update: Wall Street Fluctuates as Earnings Weigh on Consumer Shares

Wall Street ended mixed on Tuesday after the benchmarks spent the session fluctuating between gains and losses on below-average volumes as retail earnings weighed on consumer stocks, while economic data that was mostly bullish supported financials.

The markets all started in the green amid reports that North Korea was backing away from rhetoric about attacking US territory Guam. But the gains didn't last as investors digested earnings reports from blue-chip Home Depot ( HD ) along with mixed to weaker-than-expected results from retailers Coach ( COH ) and Dick's Sporting Goods ( DKS ).

The consumer discretionary group fell 0.9% to be among five of the 11 sectors on the Standard & Poor's 500 that ended in the red on Tuesday. Consumer staples, conversely, were 0.5% higher on gains in tobacco stocks. On the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 12 of the 30 components ended lower.

Financial stocks rose 0.3% as the day's data -- including retail sales that came in twice what analysts predicted --lifted the chances of a 25 basis point rate hike in December to about 51% on the CME Group's FedWatch tool from 37% a day earlier.

Also in economic news, the Empire State manufacturing index surged to 25.2 from 9.8 in July, beating expectations to remain unchanged at 9.8. The housing market index rose to 68, its highest level in three months to 68, while business inventories were up 0.5% and sales rose 0.3%, driving the inventory/sales ratio up to 1.38 from 1.37 in May.

The data boosted US Treasury yields, while gold and silver were weaker amid the easing tensions in global politics. Oil slipped for a second day as the US dollar strengthened, sending energy shares down 0.3%.

Here's where the markets stood by the close:

US MARKETS

Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5.28 points (+0.02%)

S&P 500 was down 1.23 points (-0.05%)

Nasdaq Composite Index was down 7.22 points (-0.11%)

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

FTSE 100 was up 0.41%

Nikkei 225 was up 1.11%

Hang Seng Index was down 0.28%

Shanghai China Composite Index was up 0.43%

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) TNDM (+37.27%) Starts enrollment in trial for touchscreen insulin pump