Overview of Market Performance
On Thursday morning, the three major indices on Wall Street are up. Investors are reacting to robust retail sales data and a decrease in initial jobless claims in the United States, while remaining attentive to quarterly reports.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: Up by 0.45% to 44,454.29 points
- S&P 500: Up by 0.48% to 6,294.00 points
- Nasdaq Composite: Up by 0.80% to 20,895.89 points
Key Economic Indicators
U.S. retail sales increased by 0.6% on a monthly basis in June, surpassing the expected 0.2% and rising by 3.5% year-over-year. Excluding automobiles, retail sales grew by 0.5% the previous month, which also exceeded projections of 0.3%.
Labor market data showed solid employment in the U.S., with 221,000 initial jobless claims for the week ending July 12, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week and lower than the expected 234,000.
Notable Company Performance
PepsiCo’s shares surged by 6.87% after exceeding expectations in the second quarter. The company also raised its annual guidance, anticipating a 1.5% decline in earnings compared to the previously forecasted 3% drop.
United Airlines shares rose by 2.12% after surpassing second-quarter earnings expectations, despite revising its annual forecast downward. The airline highlighted a surge in demand, including a significant rebound in the corporate segment.
Netflix shares increased slightly by 0.79% ahead of its second-quarter earnings report. Wall Street anticipates earnings of $7.08 per share and revenues of $11,060 million, representing nearly a 16% annual increase.
Monetary Policy Insights
Adriana Kugler, a Federal Reserve Board governor, stated that the central bank should not cut interest rates “for some time” as Trump tariffs begin to affect prices.
“Retail sales grew, and technically, it was a positive sign for the U.S. economy and Wall Street. However, it supports keeping interest rates steady,” explained Andrés Espinosa, business development manager at Excent Capital.
