U.S. Stocks Climb on Retail Rebound
August 16 2017 - 5:36PM
Dow Jones News
By 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 bounceback in
shares of retailers.
The moves 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 25.88 points, or 0.1%, to
22024.87 in its fourth straight session of gains. The S&P 500
gained 3.50 points, or 0.1%, to 2468.11 and the Nasdaq Composite
advanced 12.10 points, or 0.2%, to 6345.11.
Target rose $1.96, or 3.6%, to $56.31, helping to lead retail
shares higher 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, Best Buy and Dollar
Tree 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," he said.
Urban Outfitters shares jumped 2.94, or 17%, to 19.76 -- their
largest advance in almost five years -- 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. Shares rose 2.08, or 1.4%, to 152.25, adding
roughly 14 points to the blue-chip index. 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 interest-rate increases, and 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.
Gold prices extended gains and the dollar fell 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. 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.
--Justin Yang contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 16, 2017 17:21 ET (21:21 GMT)
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