(CNBC) — U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 crossing 1,900 for the first time, as disappointing April retail sales were offset by an upward revision for the prior month and an upbeat gauge of small business sentiment.
"We had soft numbers on retail but positive on small business sentiment, so they cancelled each other out," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.
"We're winding down out of earnings season, and there's not a whole lot going on, but when you're in a bull market, and we are, a lack of bad news causes us to drift higher," Frederick added.