U.S. stocks were on the mend Tuesday after a drench sell-off Monday erased August gains for major equity indexes. A pair of better than expected earnings reports from national retail chains sparked the modest advance, and investors brushed off a hiccup in the latest reading on residential construction.

The day’s competition began abroad, where an upbeat reading on consumer confidence from Germany fueled an advance in European bourses.

Investors brushed off the data, and took a 0.9 percent drop in the producer price index in stride, to send stocks higher Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 67 points, or 0.7 percent, to 9,203; the S&P 500 gained 9 points, or 0.9 percent, to 988; and the Nasdaq added 20 points, or 1 percent, to 1,950.

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