Stock Market Today: Stocks Soar After July Retail Sales, Walmart Earnings
Signs that consumer spending remains strong sparked a major rally on Wall Street.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
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
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
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
-
How to Turn Your 401(k) Into A Real Estate EmpireTapping your 401(k) to purchase investment properties is risky, but it could deliver valuable rental income in your golden years.
-
My First $1 Million: Retired Nuclear Plant Supervisor, 68Ever wonder how someone who's made a million dollars or more did it? Kiplinger's My First $1 Million series uncovers the answers.
-
How to Position Investments to Minimize Taxes for Your HeirsTo minimize your heirs' tax burden, focus on aligning your investment account types and assets with your estate plan, and pay attention to the impact of RMDs.
-
Don't Bury Your Kids in Taxes: How to Position Your Investments to Help Create More Wealth for Them
To minimize your heirs' tax burden, focus on aligning your investment account types and assets with your estate plan, and pay attention to the impact of RMDs.
-
Are You 'Too Old' to Benefit From an Annuity?Probably not, even if you're in your 70s or 80s, but it depends on your circumstances and the kind of annuity you're considering.
-
In Your 50s and Seeing Retirement in the Distance? What You Do Now Can Make a Significant ImpactThis is the perfect time to assess whether your retirement planning is on track and determine what steps you need to take if it's not.
-
Your Retirement Isn't Set in Stone, But It Can Be a Work of ArtSetting and forgetting your retirement plan will make it hard to cope with life's challenges. Instead, consider redrawing and refining your plan as you go.
-
The Bear Market Protocol: 3 Strategies to Consider in a Down MarketThe Bear Market Protocol: 3 Strategies for a Down Market From buying the dip to strategic Roth conversions, there are several ways to use a bear market to your advantage — once you get over the fear factor.
-
Dow Adds 1,206 Points to Top 50,000: Stock Market TodayThe S&P 500 and Nasdaq also had strong finishes to a volatile week, with beaten-down tech stocks outperforming.
-
The Best Precious Metals ETFs to Buy in 2026Precious metals ETFs provide a hedge against monetary debasement and exposure to industrial-related tailwinds from emerging markets.
-
For the 2% Club, the Guardrails Approach and the 4% Rule Do Not Work: Here's What Works InsteadFor retirees with a pension, traditional withdrawal rules could be too restrictive. You need a tailored income plan that is much more flexible and realistic.
