Wall Street’s key indices were mixed on Tuesday as investors assessed a series of delayed economic reports to gauge the health of the US economy.

US government data revealed that retail sales grew at a slower pace than expected in September, as higher prices added to affordability concerns while companies grappled with increased business costs.

According to the US Commerce Department, overall retail sales rose by 0.2% on a month-on-month basis. This figure was slightly below analyst expectations and represented a cooling from August’s 0.6% increase.

A separate report issued by the US Labour Department showed that Producer Prices Index (PPI) rose in line with forecasts, reaching 0.3% in September.

Both reports, released on Tuesday, had been delayed as a record 43-day long government shutdown between October and mid-November halted the publication of various economic data, ranging from inflation to jobs numbers.

As of 9:35 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 edged up 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3% lower.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 34.1 points, or 0.07%, to 46,482.36. The S&P 500 fell 8.1 points, or 0.12%, to 6,697.03, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 69.2 points, or 0.30%, to 22,802.847.

Following the latest economic data, investors were hoping that the Federal Reserve will cut its interest rate at its December meeting.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.01% from 4.04% late on Monday.

Key Stock Movers

Alphabet stock gained 1.5% after a report said Meta Platforms was in talks to spend billions on the Google parent’s chips. Meta shares added 1.46%.

Chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices sank 4.8% and 7.4%, respectively.

Abercrombie & Fitch stock soared 20.9% after the apparel seller reported a stronger quarterly profit than expected.

Koh’s shares surged 32.4% after the company reported a profit for the third quarter.

Bullion Market

Gold prices were steady on Tuesday, as softer-than-expected US retail sales data reinforced hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December.

By 09:36 AM ET (1436 GMT), spot gold fell 0.2% to $4,130.85 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.8% to $4,127.40 per ounce.

In other metals, spot silver rose 0.1% to $51.41 per ounce, platinum rose 0.3% to $1,548.80 and palladium lost 0.2% to $1,392.79.

Crude Oil

Oil prices declined on Tuesday after media reports cited a US official saying that Ukraine had agreed to a peace deal.

At 1417 GMT, Brent futures were down $1.22, or 1.9%, at $62.15 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $1.21, or 2.1%, to $57.63.

ABC News and CBS News reported that a US official said Ukraine had agreed on the terms of a potential peace deal.