Stock Market Today: Stocks end at record high with peace talks, Walmart in focus

Updated at 5:06 PM EST

Stocks ended higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh record as investors looked ahead to a holiday-shortened week focused on the impact of new tariff polices and the health of the domestic economy.

The S&P 500 rose 0.24% to a record close of 6,129.58, after touching an intraday record of 6,129.63, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10 points, or 0.02%, to end the session at 44,556.34 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 0.07% at 20,041.26.

Updated at 12:57 PM EST

Eye on CPI

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly echoed the central bank's message of 'patience' on rate cuts at an industry event in Phoenix Tuesday, adding that policy makers need to be "careful ... before we make the next adjustment".

"Policy needs to remain restrictive until I see that we are really continuing to make progress on inflation, " Daly said. "We have to take our time; "Ultimately we need more information to find out what we're really going to do".

The CME Group's FedWatch tool suggests traders aren't expecting any change in the Fed's key lending rate until at least June, when the odds of a quarter point reduction are essentially a coin flip for what could be the only cut of the year. 

Last week, the Commerce Department's January CPI inflation report showed the biggest monthly increase in price pressures in more than 18 months, with a headline reading of 3.1% and a core inflation rate of 3.3%.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said policy needs to remain restrictive until there’s more progress on inflation https://t.co/iYAzgp9VRb pic.twitter.com/7wkyBzbOOY— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) February 18, 2025

Updated at 10:35 AM EST

Intel in a spin?

Intel  (INTC)  shares extended their longest winning streak since the 1980s, and have added more than $200 billion in value over the past two weeks, amid a series of reports that suggest it could team up with chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor in the spin-off of its foundry business. 

The Wall Street Journal also reported that custom chipmaker Broadcom  (AVGO)  could also be looking to make a play for Intel's design business once the spinoff, which reportedly has the support of the new Trump administration, is completed.

Intel shares were last marked 6.74% higher in early Tuesday trading to change hands at $25.19 each, a move that would peg the stock's two-week gain at around 32%.

Related: Analyst reworks Intel stock price target amid new spinoff reports

Updated at 9:35 AM EST

Record open

The S&P 500 was marked 8 points, or 0.14% higher in the opening minutes of trading, and hit a fresh all-time peak, while the Nasdaq rising  51 points, or 0.26%.

The Dow slipped 20 points and the mid-cap Russell 2000 gained 3 points, or 0.1% to kick-off the holiday-shortened week.

"Last week the S&P 500 just missed topping its late-January record highs, despite some seemingly negative news about inflation and consumer spending," said Chris Larkin, managing director for trading and investing at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.

"But overall, the market is still trying to break out of the consolidation it’s been in since early December," he added. "This week kicks off the retail portion of earnings season, but news out of Washington, especially on the tariff front, could continue to be a wild card for the markets."

S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Feb. 18, 2025)$SPY +0.21%