US close: Stocks sharply higher following data deluge

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks closed sharply higher early on Thursday as investors digested a slew of data points. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.39% at 40,563.06, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.61% to 5,543.122 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.34% firmer at 17,594.50.

The Dow closed 554.67 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as market participants thumbed over July's consumer price index, which revealed a slowing annual inflation rate of 2.9%, the lowest seen since 2021. Wednesday's CPI reading seemingly reassured investors that an economic soft landing was still on the cards and that the Federal Reserve would likely lower interest rates at its September meeting.

As far as Thursday's macro slate was concerned, unemployment claims in the US dipped unexpectedly during the previous week. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms first time jobless claims fell by 7,000 over the week ending on 10 August to reach 227,000. Economists had forecast a slight rise to 235,000.

Elsewhere, Retail sales jumped last month, driven by a rebound in auto purchases. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, retail sales volumes shot 1.0% higher month-on-month to reach $709.7bn. That followed a revised 0.2% decline in June, but was more than twice the 0.3% gain projected by economists. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales of which soared by 3.6% in comparison to June, after a 3.4% drop during the previous month, retail sales were up by a more modest 0.4%.

Moving on, Factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region shrank unexpectedly in August, the results of a closely followed survey showed. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector index fell from a level of 13.9 in July to -7.0. Economists had pencilled in a reading of 7.0.

On a similar note, August's Empire State manufacturing index increased to -4.7, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the highest reading in six months, ahead of expectations of a reading of -6.0 and the prior month's print of -6.6.

Still on data, industrial production decreased 0.2% year-on-year in July, the first annual drop in three months, following a downwardly revised 1.1% increase in June, while capacity utilisation fell to a three-month low of 77.8% in July, short of market forecasts of 78.5%.

Finally, US business inventories increased 0.30% in June, according to the Census Bureau, while the NAHB's revealed its housing market index decreased to 39 points in August, down from 41 in July.

In the corporate space, Ulta Beauty shares traded higher on the back of news that Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway had taken a $266.0m stake in the firm, while Snowflake shares traded lower as Berkshire Hathaway entirely dissolved its shareholding.

Elsewhere, Cisco shares traded higher after the networking specialists posted quarterly earnings and revenue beats and issued optimistic forward guidance, and Walmart was in the green after the retailer's latest batch of earnings were better than feared.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.53 7.12% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $73.18 6.58% Nike Inc. (NKE) $82.50 5.07% Boeing Co. (BA) $176.41 4.69% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $262.49 2.93% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $88.79 2.89% Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.69 2.68% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $345.64 2.38% American Express Co. (AXP) $249.50 2.35% Visa Inc. (V) $266.76 2.17%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.04 -2.10% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $167.82 -0.52% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $113.30 -0.24% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $579.61 -0.01% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $498.87 0.06% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $68.65 0.10% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $159.09 0.38% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $211.55 0.62% 3M Co. (MMM) $127.19 0.78%

S&P 500 - Risers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $365.80 10.34% Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $79.14 8.63% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.53 7.12% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $106.95 6.68% Gap Inc. (GPS) $24.20 6.65% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $15.74 6.64% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $73.18 6.58% Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $6.38 6.33% Deere & Co. (DE) $373.26 6.26% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $122.86 6.18%

S&P 500 - Fallers

AT&T Inc. (T) $19.09 -2.75% Eversource Energy (ES) $64.83 -2.41% General Mills Inc. (GIS) $68.71 -2.34% American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $218.06 -2.29% ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $30.13 -2.11% Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $214.77 -2.11% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.04 -2.10% Hershey Foods Corp. (HSY) $196.66 -1.97% Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $34.19 -1.95% Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $99.06 -1.62%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $365.80 10.34% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $48.53 7.12% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $106.95 6.68% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $122.86 6.18% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $166.13 6.06% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $890.10 5.87% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $231.56 5.61% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $836.19 5.30% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $235.33 5.29% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $928.25 5.22%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.59 -3.02% Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $34.19 -1.95% Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $89.18 -1.27% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $352.01 -1.20% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $18.70 -1.11% Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $80.55 -1.07% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $201.63 -0.84% Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $70.28 -0.83% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $19.29 -0.82% T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $194.63 -0.58%