U.S. Stocks Climb on Bounceback in Retail
August 16 2017 - 3:04PM
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 bounceback in
retail shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43 points, or 0.2%, to
22042, on pace for a fourth straight session of gains. The S&P
500 gained 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.
Stocks extended gains slightly after minutes from the Federal
Reserve's latest meeting showed officials were split about the
timing of future interest rate increases.
Some of the session's biggest moves came from brick-and-mortar
stores, a day after they were among the worst performers in the
S&P 500. Shares of Target rose nearly 4%, leading the group
higher after the company reported same-store sales growth that
outpaced analyst expectations in the most recent quarter, and
raised its full-year earnings outlook. 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," he said.
E-commerce competition and mixed earnings have swung retail
stocks recently. Shares of Advance Auto Parts and Dick's Sporting
Goods posted their biggest percentage declines on record Tuesday
after the companies missed earnings expectations. Urban Outfitters
shares were having one of their best sessions ever Wednesday,
advancing 16% after the retailer beat Wall Street's quarterly
earnings and sales projections.
Shares of Home Depot propelled the Dow industrials higher, after
the stock fell Tuesday even as the company reported same-store
sales that exceeded expectations and raised its full-year
outlook.
Stocks pared gains slightly after two of President Donald
Trump's councils of top business leaders disbanded.
Although the development could hurt expectations about the Trump
administration enacting corporate-friendly policies, many investors
already don't expect such policies to go through and support
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.
The reaction to the latest Fed minutes also was relatively
muted, with bonds and gold extending gains after the minutes showed
some officials argued that weak inflation means the central bank
should hold off on raising rates.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.231%,
according to Tradeweb, from 2.264% Tuesday. Yields fall as bond
prices rise. The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency
against 16 others, edged down 0.3%.
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 14:49 ET (18:49 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.