Investing.com-- U.S. stocks rose strongly Thursday, as fears of an economic slowdown were dispelled following stronger-than-expected labor market and retail sales data.
At 13:45 ET (17:45 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 502 points, or 1.5%, the S&P 500 rose 1.5%, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 200 points, or 2.2%.
Retail sales suggest consumer resilience
U.S. retail sales rose by a larger than expected amount in July, pointing to resilience in consumer spending activity, allaying fears of an imminent recession in the world's biggest economy.
Retail sales rose by 1% last month, accelerating from an unchanged reading in June, according to Commerce Department data released earlier Thursday, more than the 0.4% expected.
On an annual basis, retail sales rose by 2.7%, having increased by a revised lower 2.0% in June.
On the labor market front, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, reinforcing concerns of a gradual softening of the labor market.
Softer CPI and producer price index readings this week suggested inflation was cooling, raising expectations of an interest rate cut in September.
Walmart earnings surge
In the corporate sector, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stock rose 6% after the retail giant, often considered as a bellwether for retail demand, reported its second-quarter earnings on Thursday, topping analyst expectations, driven by robust e-commerce growth and improved margins.
The earnings come after rival Home Depot (NYSE:HD) rose 1% despite warning of a weaker annual profit and clocked a bigger-than-expected drop in its annual comparable sales earlier this week.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) stock gained 7% after the networking equipment giant reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and announced a restructuring plan.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) stock soared 12% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) (NYSE:BRKb) reported a new stake in the cosmetics company, while Nike (NYSE:NKE) stock gained 5% after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square (NYSE:SQ) revealed a position in the sports footwear retailer.
Tapestry (NYSE:TPR) gained more than 3% after delivering quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates.
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)