U.S. Stocks Climb on Retail Rebound
August 16 2017 - 5:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Justin Yang and Amrith Ramkumar
-- Retailers lead U.S. stocks higher after Target earnings
-- Stocks little changed after Fed minutes show split over future rate
increases
U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday, supported by a rebound in shares
of retailers.
The increases extended a volatile stretch for the companies,
many of which have been grappling with e-commerce competition and
mixed earnings. Brick-and-mortar stores were among the worst
performers in the S&P 500 a day earlier.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 26 points, or 0.1%, to
22025 in its fourth straight session of gains. The S&P 500
gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2%.
Target rose 3.6% after the company raised its full-year earnings
outlook and reported same-store sales growth that outpaced analyst
expectations in the most recent quarter. Gap, Dollar Tree and Best
Buy were also among the S&P 500's best performers.
"Target really knocked it out of the park," said Chris Gaffney,
president of EverBank World Markets. "All of a sudden, people are
saying the consumers are showing some strength again."
Urban Outfitters shares jumped 17% after the retailer beat Wall
Street's quarterly earnings and sales projections.
Home Depot propelled the Dow industrials higher, after the stock
fell Tuesday even as the company raised its outlook for the second
time this year. Wal-Mart is scheduled to report earnings before the
market opens Thursday.
Stocks were relatively steady after minutes from the Federal
Reserve's latest meeting showed officials were split about the
timing of future increases in interest rates, and after two of
President Donald Trump's councils of top business leaders
disbanded.
Although the development could hurt expectations for the
administration's policies to support large corporations, many
investors were already skeptical that such changes would go through
and boost markets, said Ian Winer, head of equities trading at
Wedbush Securities.
"Investors are not reacting to this as if it's a big deal," he
said.
U.S. government bonds and gold prices extended gains after the
Fed minutes showed some officials argued that weak inflation meant
the central bank should hold off on raising rates.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.224% from
2.264% Tuesday. Yields fall as bond prices rise. Gold for August
delivery gained 0.3% to $1,276.90 an ounce.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 16
others, fell 0.4%.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.7% in its third straight
session of gains. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index pared early
losses to trade 0.1% lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained
0.9%, while the South Korean Kospi rose 0.6% as traders returned
from a public holiday to catch up with the region's earlier
gains.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 16, 2017 16:48 ET (20:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.