Stocks Push Higher Early Tuesday

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks around the world pushed higher Tuesday, as markets continued to gain strength following a shaky run the last couple of weeks. Shares of retailers and metals companies helped lead the way in the United States.

With less nervousness in the market, prices for Treasury bonds, gold and other go-to investments for turbulent times fell.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 13 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,442, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. If it stays up for the day, it would be the second gain in a row for the index, which recently closed out back-to-back losses the last two weeks.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 112, or 0.5 percent, to 21,816, and the Nasdaq composite rose 45, or 0.7 percent, to 6,258.

QUIET TIMES AHEAD? Many analysts are expecting markets to drift sideways in upcoming weeks, with few market-moving events on the calendar. Central bankers from around the world will meet at the end of the week at a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but analysts are unsure whether Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen or European Central Bank head Mario Draghi will say anything to surprise investors.

If markets do end up calming down, it would mark a return to a smooth ride for investors. The S&P 500 is up 9 percent for the year, and the climb had been a remarkably placid one until two weeks ago. It had just two days this year where it fell by 1 percent or more, before doubling its tally during the last two weeks as worries rose about political strife in Washington and abroad.

RING IT UP: Macy's had one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after it said an eBay executive, Hal Lawton, would become its president. Traditional retailers have been struggling to compete with online rivals, and Macy's said it is restructuring its organization to drive more sales and cut costs. Macy's rose 76 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $20.29.

SHINY SHINY: Metals companies were also leading the way for the market, as prices rise for copper and other metals on expectations for stronger demand from customers around the world.

Freeport-McMoRan, the largest publicly traded copper producer, rose 57 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $15.30. Arconic, which sells aluminum, titanium and nickel, rose 87 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $25.35.

GLOBAL MARKETS: In Europe, Germany's DAX jumped 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 rose 0.6 percent and the FTSE 100 gained 0.7 percent in London.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.9 percent, South Korea's Kospi added 0.4 percent and the Nikkei 225 in Japan was virtually flat.

YIELDS: Prices for Treasurys fell, which in turn pushed up their yields. The 10-year Treasury note's yield rose to 2.20 percent from 2.18 percent late Monday. The two-year yield edged up to 1.32 percent from 1.31 percent, and the 30-year yield climbed to 2.78 percent from 2.76 percent.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 109.32 Japanese yen from 108.85 yen late Friday. The euro fell to $1.1763 from $1.1813, and the British pound fell to $1.2837 from $1.2901.

COMMODITIES: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 35 cents to $47.88 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 34 cents to $52.00 per barrel.

Natural gas added 2 cents to $2.98 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil rose 2 cents to $1.59 per gallon and wholesale gasoline gained 2 cents to $1.60 per gallon.

Gold fell $3.90 to$1,292.80 per ounce, silver rose 4 cents to $17.05 per ounce and copper gained 2 cents to $3.00 per pound.

(BE)