Wall St rebounds from string of losses, retailers gain

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks, snapping the year's longest losing streak, rose on Tuesday on gains by Best Buy Co , J.C. Penney and other retailers.

Gains accelerated in afternoon trading due to large-cap technology stocks, including Intel Corp and Cisco Systems , which lifted the Nasdaq composite index more than 1 percent.

But U.S. Treasuries yields, although down from Monday, were still at two-year highs, encouraging investors to dump riskier assets like stocks and buy U.S. government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note dipped to 2.83 percent on Tuesday from 2.88 percent on Monday.

Best Buy, Home Depot and J.C. Penney rose after they posted results. Consumer-focused shares had recently been battered as retailers which reported earnings earlier in the period disappointed investors.

Intel shares were up 1.4 percent at $22.60, the biggest gainer on the Dow, while Cisco Systems jumped nearly 1 percent to $24.49.

Investors have been grappling with uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve might begin to wind down its stimulus measures. On Wednesday, they will be able to study the minutes from the U.S. central bank's July meeting, which will be released and might provide clues about policymakers' plans for so-called quantitative easing.

"Stocks are rebounding today, but we are seeing a lot of market swings because of the concerns on Fed tapering, so I wouldn't be surprised if we ended flat or lower by the end of the day," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at the Schwab center for financial research in Austin, Texas.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 56.45 points, or 0.38 percent, at 15,067.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 12.26 points, or 0.74 percent, at 1,658.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 35.02 points, or 0.98 percent, at 3,624.11 after rising 1 percent.

The S&P closed lower on Monday at 1,646.06, below its 50-day moving average for a second straight day and at its lowest since July 8.

TJX Cos , the owner of the discount T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, bucking a trend of weak results by a number of retailers. Its shares gained 6.7 percent to $54.16.

Home Depot shares rose 0.2 percent to $75.33 after the world's largest home improvement chain raised its yearly outlook.

Shares of Best Buy jumped 10 percent to $33.79 after the world's largest consumer electronics chain reported a higher quarterly profit.

Urban Outfitters shares gained 10.1 percent $43.95 one day after the apparel retailer's quarterly profit beat market estimates.

J.C. Penney shares gained 5.6 percent to $13.96 after the troubled retailer said the back-to-school season has so far been encouraging.

But Barnes & Noble shares tumbled more than 11 percent to $14.69 after the book retailer reported a steeper quarterly loss and its founder dropped his plan to buy the company's stores.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Dan Grebler and Kenneth Barry)