North American stocks ended the day mixed on Tuesday, with defensive stocks posting gains but commodity producers and financials slumping.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,476.54, up 47.98 points, or 0.4 per cent. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1,241.59, up 1.13 points, or 0.1 per cent. Canada's S&P/TSX composite index closed at 13,280.08, down 15.78 points, or 0.1 per cent.
The day began on an upbeat note, after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.8 per cent in November, beating expectations. However, the report failed to spark a rally in consumer stocks, which were weighed down by a disappointing earnings report from Best Buy Co. Inc. Shares in the electronics retailer fell 14.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve maintained its key interest rate at about zero per cent, which surprised no one. However, the central bank maintained a dour outlook on the economy, noting that the "recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring down unemployment."
Stocks retreated slightly shortly after the Fed's statement was released in the afternoon. JPMorgan Chase & Co. ended the day down 1.7 per cent and Bank of America Corp. fell 1.1 per cent. Among commodity stocks, Alcoa Inc. fell 1.1 per cent.
However, defensive stocks held up reasonably well. AT&T Inc. rose 2 per cent, Kraft Foods Inc. rose 1.7 per cent and Johnson & Johnson rose 1.5 per cent.
Among Canadian stocks, Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.9 per cent and Manulife Financial Corp. fell 0.7 per cent after the two financial giants had their credit rating downgraded by Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service on Monday.
In other moves, Suncor Energy Inc. fell 0.1 per cent, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 0.6 per cent and Barrick Gold Corp. fell 1.5 per cent. Research In Motion Ltd. gave up early gains, ending down 0.6 per cent ahead of its quarterly earnings report on Thursday.
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