Strong Retail Sales Data May Lead To Continued Strength On Wall Street

[ADVFN]( [[Global Email] World Daily Markets Bulletin]( Thursday, 15 August 2024 10:14:48 [ADVFN Twitter]( [Monitor]( [Quote]( [Charts]( [News]( [Toplists]( [Boards]( US Market The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to extend the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. Easing concerns about the economic outlook may generate continued buying interest on Wall Street after the Commerce Department released a report showing much stronger than expected retail sales growth in July. The Commerce Department said retail sales jumped by 1.0 percent in July after edging down by a revised 0.2 percent in June. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month. Excluding a surge in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in July after climbing by 0.8 percent in June. Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent. Shares of Walmart (WMT) are also moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the retail giant reported fiscal second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and raised its full-year guidance. Positive sentiment may also be generated in reaction to a Labor Department report showing an unexpected decli... [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you day trade? Trader Alerts streams stocks reaching new highs and lows as well as stocks breaking out of previous volume highs as they happen. It's a powerful tool for day trading ideas. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Economic Reports The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of July. The report said retail sales jumped by 1.0 percent in July after edging down by a revised 0.2 percent in June. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month. Excluding a surge in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in July after climbing by 0.8 percent in June. Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent. A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed an unexpected decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 10th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 227,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of to 234,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000 from the 233,000 originall... [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks in Focus Shares of Ulta Beauty (ULTA) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading following news Warren Buffett?s Berkshire Hathaway has acquired a $2... [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sell every Stock except ONE]( Markets are down... But Jeff Clark couldn't care less because he ignores almost every stock in the market except ONE. He lives financially free trading this One Stock Once per month... [Ticker Revealed.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Europe European stocks are flat to slightly higher on Thursday as signs of slowing inflation in the U.S. bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates in September. Meanwhile, official data showed the U.K. economy expanded again in the second quarter, but the pace of growth moderated slightly due to the contractions in industrial and co... [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Asia Asian stocks followed Wall Street higher on Thursday, the dollar sagged, and Treasury yields dipped as more signs of cooling inflation in the U.S. fueled bets of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September. In addition, a mixed set of economic activity data from China boosted hopes for more stimulus. Gold edged up in Asian trading, while oil bounced back after two days of declines. Chinese markets rose as underwhelming data fueled hopes of economic stimulus. Industrial production slowed for a third straight month in July, unemployment rose, and home sales pointed to continued weakness in the prop... [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Crude oil futures are climbing $0.87 to $77.85 a barrel after tumbling $1.37 to $76.98 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile,... [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click [here](. Registered Office/Accounts Dept: Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gable, Fyfield Road, Ongar, CM5 0GA. Customer Support +1 888-992-3836. Company registered in England and Wales: Number 2374988 VAT No. GB 549 2130 49