Dow ekes out gain as U.S. stocks stage big reversal

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday but finished well above session lows, with the Dow popping into the green just before the end of the trading day. Investors weighed a number of factors, including strong U.S. retail sales data, rising Treasury yields and a growing optimism surrounding third-quarter corporate earnings. Also, the Russell 2000
RUT,
+1.09%,
which is focused on small cap stocks, took the lead, outperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, a rare occurrence during a year where many corners of the stock market have performed poorly relative to megacap technology stocks. The S&P 500
SPX,
-0.01%
fell less than a point to finish at 4,373.20, according to preliminary closing data from FactSet. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-0.25%
fell 34.24 points, or 0.3%, to 13,533.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.04%
gained 13.11 points, or less than 0.1%, to 33,997.65.