S&P 500 top movers: Real estate stocks post strong gains on Tuesday

• S&P 500 Index retreats from highs, stays in the positive territory.
• Real estate stocks register decisive gains on Tuesday.
• Financial shares suffer heavy losses as banks warn of dismal interest income.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) opened the day sharply higher but struggled to preserve its bullish momentum. Although the SPX retreated from the daily high it set at 3,419, it's still up 0.72% on the day at 3,408.

S&P 500 top movers

In the absence of significant fundamental market drivers, the defensive Real Estate Index is up nearly 2% as the best-performing major S&P 500 sector. Among the top real estate stocks, SL Green Realty Corp (SLG: NYSE), Kimco Realty Corp (KIM: NYSE) and Simon Property Group Inc (SPG: NYSE) shares are up between 6% and 5.5%.

On the other hand, financial shares remain on the back foot with banks voicing a dismal outlook for net interest income as the US Federal Reserve remains committed to keeping rates low to support the economic recovery. As of writing, 
Citigroup Inc (C: NYSE), Lincoln National Corp (LNC: NYSE) and Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG: NYSE) shares are among the top daily percentage decliners on Tuesday, losing between 4.5% and 3.4%.