Stock Market Today: Stocks Soar After July Retail Sales, Walmart Earnings
Signs that consumer spending remains strong sparked a major rally on Wall Street.


Stocks opened sharply higher Thursday and stayed there through the close. In addition to a pair of encouraging blue chip earnings reports, investors also cheered an upbeat retail sales report, which helped quiet recession chatter.
Starting with the earnings calendar. Cisco Systems (CSCO) was the best Dow Jones stocks today, gaining 6.8% after the networking equipment specialist reported higher-than-expected earnings and revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter. Cisco also announced layoffs – its second round of job cuts this year.
Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron (Outperform, the equivalent of Buy) sees an attractive setup for Cisco in its new fiscal year amid continued enterprise improvement and demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. "While solid execution is still needed to win back investors, the results leave us optimistic on the long-term opportunity," he adds.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Walmart pops after beat-and-raise quarter
Walmart (WMT) finished just behind of CSCO on the price charts, jumping 6.6% after the discount retailer's beat-and-raise quarter.
"Walmart stands out in this quarter simply for its ability to raise guidance for the next couple of quarters," says Brian Mulberry, client portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management.
Mulberry adds that Walmart's report contrasts with other national retailers such as Home Depot (HD, +1.2%) that had strong results "but worked very hard to delicately lower expectations on the heels of a weaker consumer."
Ulta gets a big Buffett boost
Elsewhere in the retail space, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) surged 11.2% after regulatory filings revealed the cosmetics retailer is one of the newest additions to the Berkshire Hathaway equity portfolio.
Indeed, Warren Buffett's holding company bought roughly 696,000 ULTA shares in the second quarter to initiate a stake. The position is a small one, accounting for just 0.1% of the entire portfolio.
"We view this development as a vote of confidence for the company's longer-term prospects and a further validation of ULTA's significantly discounted valuation," says Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh (Outperform). Here is the entire list of all the stocks Buffett bought and sold in Q2.
Retail sales rebound in July
It wasn't just single-stock news making headlines today. There was plenty on the economic calendar for investors to digest as well. Data from the Census Bureau, for instance, showed that retail sales were up 1% in July, rebounding from June's downwardly revised 0.2% decline. This easily beat the 0.3% increase economists expected.
"Today's retail sales numbers were a blowout versus consensus, but more importantly, it should lay to rest (at least for the moment) all of the doom and gloom that was expressed at the beginning of this month," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance, in a statement.
Better-than-expected economic data means the Fed can likely start its rate-cutting cycle without the economy entering a recession, Zaccarelli adds.
Wall Street cheered today's positive headlines. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, adding 2.3% to 17,594. The S&P 500 gained 1.6% to 5,543 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4% to 40,563.
Related content
- Nike Stock Rallies After Bill Ackman Takes a New Stake
- Being Rich vs Being Wealthy: What's the Difference?
- Intel Braces for an Even Tougher Road Ahead
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Market Fees Could Be Costing You — Here’s How to Avoid Them
Some money market accounts charge more than they earn. Here's how to spot costly fees and choose smarter savings options.
-
The Role of a Mortgage Underwriter in Buying a Home
From fast-track approvals to manual reviews, here’s what to expect (and how to avoid delays) in the underwriting process.
-
Alphabet Stock Pops After Google Antitrust Ruling: What to Know
GOOGL stock is soaring Wednesday after a judge ruled that Alphabet does not have to divest its Chrome browser.
-
7 Mistakes to Avoid When You First Start Investing
Investing brings the opportunity to build wealth, but there are plenty of mistakes that can be made. Here are seven common ones and how they can be avoided.
-
A Fidelity Fund Misses Out on Soaring Bank Stocks
The Fidelity International Growth Fund has outperformed over the long term, but its lagging exposure to bank stocks has weighed on more recent returns.
-
More Than Money: The Hidden Toll of Financial Abuse of Older Adults
Financial abuse from schemes involving tech support, government impostors, false sweepstakes, grandchild hoaxes and online shopping issues can cause thousands of dollars in losses.
-
I'm a Financial Planner: Here Are Three High-Impact Ways to Make a Difference With Your Dollars
The world often feels out of control, but here are three ways to use your money — through investments, charitable giving and political donations — to help create a more just and sustainable future.
-
Stocks Slide to Start September: Stock Market Today
Seasonal trends suggest tough times for the stock market as we round into the end of the third quarter.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Sherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
Where is the Foreign Dividend Boom Headed?
It's been a golden six months for foreign dividend stocks, but can any be relied on for predictable income going forward? Here are some options.