Indexes end higher as retail sales soothe slowdown fears
Jobless claims at one-month low; retail sales surge in July
Walmart advances after raising FY profit forecast
Cisco gains after forecasting upbeat Q1 revenue, cutting 7% jobs
Updated as of 4 p.m. ET
By Abigail Summerville
Aug 15 (Reuters) -Wall Street's main indexes closed higher onThursday, with the Nasdaq rising more than 2% after July U.S. retail sales data signaledresilient consumer spending, allaying fears of an imminent recession in the world's largest economy.
Retail sales increased 1.0% after a downwardly revised 0.2% drop in June, easing fears of a sharp economic slowdown fanned by a jump in the unemployment rate last week.
Retail bellwether Walmart WMT.N rose afterraising its annual profit forecast for the second time this year as Americans flocked to its stores for inexpensive essentials.
Rivals Target TGT.N andCostco COST.O also advanced.
A separate reading also showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week.
"The wall of worry is beginning to crumble as sentiment is improving and the fundamentals support a risk-on bias," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Retail sales were above expectations, Consumer Price Index numbers came in at a tolerable level, so the fundamental backdrop is consistent with rising equity prices."
The yield ontwo-year US2YT=RR and 10-year US10YT=RR Treasury notes rose after the data, with traders increasing bets for a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve to 76.5%, versus 65% before the data. 0#FEDWATCH
Investors have cautiously eyed this week's economic data releases, the last set before Fed Chairman Jerome Powell delivers a much-awaited speech at Jackson Hole next week.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 88.41 points, or 1.62%, to end at 5,543.62 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 399.12 points, or 2.32%, to 17,591.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 555.56 points, or 1.39%, to 40,563.95.
Among other movers, Cisco Systems CSCO.O roseafter it forecast better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and said it was cutting 7% of its global workforce.
Nike NKE.N climbedas billionaire investor William Ackman built new stakes in the sportswear company. Ulta Beauty ULTA.O jumpedafter Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N acquired a stake in the cosmetics store chain.
U.S. equities outperform global market so far this year https://tmsnrt.rs/3YLdRPB
Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Richard Chang
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