Upbeat Economic Data Contributes To Record Highs On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - After moving modestly higher over the course of the previous session, stocks saw further upside during trading on Thursday. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The major averages ended the session near their best levels of the day. The Nasdaq advanced 153.78 points or 0.7 percent to 20,884.27, the S&P 500 climbed 33.66 points or 0.5 percent to 6,297.36 and the Dow rose 229.71 points or 0.5 percent to 44,484.49.

The continued strength on Wall Street came following the release of a batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales rebounded by much more than expected in the month of June.

The report said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in June after slumping by 0.9 percent in May. Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Excluding a jump in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still rose by 0.5 percent in June after edging down by 0.2 percent in May. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

"There has been a lot of talk about tariffs and the stock market back to all-time highs, but there has been less talk about the economy at full employment and a consumer who continues to spend," said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management. He added, "Although valuations are high, as long as the economy continues to expand and unemployment remains low, then people will continue to spend and the flywheel can keep generating higher profits, which is the engine for higher stock prices.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a three-month low in the week ended July 12th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 221,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 235,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The Labor Department also released another report showing import prices in the U.S. inched up by less than expected in the month of June.

Sector News

Networking stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index surging by 2.0 percent.

Significant strength also emerged among oil service stocks amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.7 percent.

Financial, steel and software stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, while pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks came under pressure over the course of the session.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the session before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 4.463 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Friday may be impacted by reaction to reports on new residential construction and consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

On the earnings front, Netflix (NFLX) is among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.