NEW YORK, Nov 15 — US equities moved decidedly higher early today, rebounding from the prior day’s losses, buoyed by good news on economic data and major retail earnings.
Walmart’s quarterly earnings beat expectations, as did Home Depot’s, while new data showed further signs inflation is slowing, boosting investor confidence.
About 30 minutes into the trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.1 per cent at 33,892.09.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.7 per cent to 4,024.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index increased 2.5 per cent to 11,474.11.
The gains followed release of the producer price index which showed wholesale inflation slowed in October, and the annual pace of PPI eased to 8.0 per cent, adding to rising hopes that inflation has peaked.
That will fuel more expectations the Federal Reserve can slow the aggressive pace of interest rate hikes after six increases this year, including four super-sized moves.
Walmart’s earnings, though weighed down by a huge payout to settle opioid lawsuits, reflected a resilient US consumer. The company saw its shares jump six per cent.
That pulled up other retailers like Target, which reports earnings tomorrow, although Home Depot was down.
Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management noted that the hardware and home improvement chain did not alter its forecast for the year “which may or may not signal some difficulty or on holiday shopping season.”
“We’re seeing more good news and bad news from retailers this week,” he told AFP. “So I think that the good combination of corporate news and economic data (is) really getting investors enthusiastic this morning.” — AFP
