Wall St Ends Higher as Mining Rises on China Stimulus

U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, shrugging off weak consumer confidence data, as mining stocks surged following China's announcement of a sweeping stimulus package.

The indexes initially trimmed gains after a report from the Conference Board revealed an unexpected decline in U.S. consumer confidence in September, driven by growing concerns about the labor market's health.

“Today's price action is predominantly about what happened overnight with the policy announcements from China, direct support for their equity market and pledges to cut interest rates in the future, has caused a really sharp move in international stocks in general,” said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“That's feeding through into parts of the U.S. market, where you see some more China-sensitive, more cyclical industries like metals and mining materials sector outperforming.”

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 15.89 points, or 0.28%, to end at 5,734.46 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 100.25 points, or 0.56%, to 18,074.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 103.11 points, or 0.23%, to 42,227.76.

Metal prices got a boost after the world's second-largest economy, China, unveiled its biggest stimulus since the pandemic to pull the economy out of its deflationary funk.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms such as Alibaba and PDD Holdings rose, tracking gains in the domestic market.

Visa shares fell sharply after the U.S. Department of Justice sued the company for alleged antitrust violations.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman cautioned that key inflation measures remained "uncomfortably above" the Fed's 2% target, warranting caution as the Fed proceeds with cutting interest rates.

Weekly jobless claims and personal consumption expenditure data remain in focus this week.