Stock futures rose Thursday as Wall Street took cues from the continued strength of the U.S. consumer and labor markets. Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.5%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) rose 0.6%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) jumped 0.6%.
Thursday morning’s headlines included earnings from retail giant Walmart (WMT), monthly government sales data and an update on jobless claims. Walmart shares rose nearly 6% after a largely positive report that reported both profit and revenue beats. The company also raised its full-year outlook.
Meanwhile, retail sales last month rose well above Wall Street expectations, a sign that U.S. consumers remain fairly resilient. Retail sales rose 1% in July, beating estimates for a 0.4% increase.
Also in focus is the normally routine weekly update on jobless claims. Last week, those claims fell more than forecast, sparking a market rally that has largely carried over into this week. And they fell again this week to 227,000, dashing expectations for a gain. As Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer writes, the labor market is “where the action is going to be” for the Fed for the foreseeable future as inflation continues to ease.
Stocks have skyrocketed after a brutal start to August, including on Wednesday’s session after the consumer price index posted its weakest year-over-year gain since early 2021. The S&P 500 has recovered nearly all of the losses from the sell-off that began early in the month.
Live2 updates
