S&P 500 climbs after solid retail sales data
U.S. stocks opened largely positive on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 250 points and the S&P 500 adding 0.3% as Wall Street targets a winning week.
- Stocks traded higher on Friday as S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose.
- Risk assets soared after latest retails sales data.
While stocks slipped on Thursday amid jitters around the Federal Reserve and interest rate scenario, the outlook on Friday signaled renewed optimism.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 250 points, or 0.6% and the benchmark index S&P 500 added 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite hovered near the flatline.
Notably, investors extended the positive sentiment seen throughout the week with an upbeat reaction to July’s retail sales report. The Dow also gained amid premarket upside for UnitedHealth (UNH), which jumped after a regulatory filing revealed Berkshire Hathaway had acquired 5 million shares of the healthcare insurance giant.
Retail sales rose in July
July’s producer price index data, released a day earlier, had dampened investor sentiment following hotter-than-expected inflation figures.
However, fresh economic data released before the bell showed that retail sales rose 0.5% in July, meeting consensus estimates. Retail sales excluding automobiles rose 0.3%, also in line with forecasts. The previous month’s data was revised up to 0.9%, signaling steady consumer spending despite ongoing concerns about the U.S. economy.
Stock markets’ reaction to the report saw the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average climb further to hit record highs. Analysts say surge in retail sales is a pointer to the robust U.S. consumer market. Data also showed import prices rose in July amid higher consumer goods prices.
In this context, the S&P 500 is bidding to extend its push above its all-time high, supported by gains in technology stocks and the cooler consumer price inflation data released earlier in the week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both up more than 1% over the past week, while the Dow is up 2%.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Musk on chip production: China's large-scale manufacturing capacity often exceeds the sum of all other regions worldwide
After ChangXin Memory Technologies announced a key breakthrough in DDR5 server memory, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index in the US stock market fell 2.7% overnight, with shares such as Micron and SK Hynix ADR dropping collectively. Musk commented on this trend, saying that when China figures out the manufacturing method of a product, its ability to scale production often exceeds that of the rest of the world combined, and stated that "China seems to be rapidly conquering" general standard specifications such as LP5 and LP6.
IREN reports $702.6 million net loss despite $4 billion in AI cloud contracts
The current AI frenzy: featuring both "Tech and Internet" and "Real Estate" bubble characteristics, reminiscent of the 2008 global capital cycle
This wave of the AI boom exhibits dual characteristics: On a micro level, the heavy-asset nature of AI data centers is driving the industry toward "real estate-like" debt financing models, such as corporate bonds, private credit, and computing power ABS. On a macro level, nearly $2 trillion in overseas excess savings is flowing into core AI assets in the U.S. stock market through private institutions, reconstructing a transnational capital cycle reminiscent of the period before the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. With nearly $3 trillion in off-balance sheet debt and rising interest rates, the industry is facing an impending major liquidity test.
AI Trading Faces a "Vulnerable Moment"! Japan and South Korea Stock Markets Experience "Black Tuesday" as SK Hynix, Samsung, and SoftBank Plunge Together
On Tuesday, Asian tech stocks faced a new round of systemic sell-off as the overnight weakness in the US semiconductor sector spread to the Asia-Pacific market. Concerns intensified over increasingly fierce competition due to the technological breakthrough by Chinese memory chip manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies, as well as worries about the returns on AI capital expenditure and the overall financing environment.
Crypto prices
More
