US Equities Markets End Mixed Tuesday Amid Geopolitical Tensions

US benchmark equity indexes ended mixed Tuesday amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine has attacked a Russian weapons arsenal with US-made missiles, CNN reported, citing two US officials. The Biden administration recently granted permission to Ukraine to use the longer-range American weapons against targets in Russia, according to the report.

* US housing starts declined more than expected last month as gains in multi-family projects were more than offset by a fall in the single-family component, government data showed.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton "dragged down" starts in the South by more than projected, Oxford Economics said. "We do expect starts in the South to rebound as rebuilding in the areas most impacted by the storms gets underway."

* Redbook reported that US same-store retail sales were up 5.1% year-over-year in the week ended Nov. 16, larger than a 4.8% gain in the prior week, with Veterans Day sales boosting traffic earlier in the week. Activity is expected to pick up as Thanksgiving approaches and a short period between Thanksgiving and Christmas could increase urgency among buyers.

* December West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $0.23 to settle at $69.39 per barrel, while January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $0.12 to $73.42 as production resumed at Equinor's (EQNR) Johan Sverdrup oilfield offshore Norway following a power disruption while geopolitical tensions run high following the Biden Administration's decision to allow Ukraine to launch missiles at targets in Russia.

* Walmart (WMT) raised its full-year outlook Tuesday as the retail giant reported stronger-than-expected fiscal Q3 results amid gains across all segments. Its shares were up 3%.

* Shares of H&R Block (HRB) and Intuit (INTU) fell amid a Washington Post report that said the leaders of President-elect Donald Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" have discussed the creation of a mobile app for Americans to file their taxes for free with the IRS. H&R Block was down 8.2%, while Intuit fell 5%.