Home Depot on Tuesday reported a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly same-store sales, as demand was buoyed by Americans spending on small-scale home-improvement projects amid signs of stabilization in the housing market.

Shares rose about 1% in premarket trading as the company also announced a new $15 billion share buyback program.

Consumers are still investing in small-scale repair and maintenance work and outdoor projects even as they shun spending heavily on large remodels and renovation, offsetting some lost demand at home improvement chains.

Even as foot traffic at Home Depot declined 5.1% in the second quarter, it had improved sequentially from an 8.6% fall in the prior quarter, according to Wells Fargo analysts.

The No. 1 U.S. home improvement chain said comparable sales fell 2% in the quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of a 3.54% drop, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

The company maintained its annual sales and profit forecasts.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)