12:20 PM EDT, 07/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed midday Tuesday as retail sales, excluding gasoline and automobiles, grew by four times expectations, and the Russell 2000, home to small-cap stocks, surged to a fresh record high, supporting the narrative that a potential rotation is underway away from technology.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.4% to 40,752.6, hitting an all-time intraday high. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 5,650.1, hovering just beneath a new record. The Nasdaq Composite, however, slipped less than 0.1% to 18,459.1, extending declines from its peak.

The Russell 2000 soared 2.4% to 2,238.5 after making a new intraday high of 2,240.8.

US retail sales, excluding motor vehicles and a 3% drop in gasoline station sales, jumped 0.8% in June from 0.3% in May, compared with expectations for a 0.2% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Headline retail sales held steady in June, compared with the 0.3% decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and the previous month's 0.3% increase.

Sectors such as healthcare, industrials, and materials led gainers, while technology and communication services were the twin sole decliners intraday.

In an Economic Club of Washington meeting Monday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that the central bank will not wait until inflation reaches 2% before cutting rates, according to a note from D.A. Davidson. Inflation has been cooling down recently, but Powell did not indicate the timing of any future cuts. The next Fed policy meeting is in late July.

The US 10-year Treasury yield dropped 4.6 basis points to 4.18%.

Gold surged 1.7% to $2,469.41 an ounce and silver jumped 2.1% to $31.59.

In company news, Morgan Stanley's ( MS ) second-quarter results gained year over year and topped market expectations, buoyed by a 51% jump in investment banking revenue. Bank of America ( BAC ) reported better-than-expected second-quarter results.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped 1.3% to $80.87 a barrel.