HomeFinancial MarketsStocks Rally Following Strong Walmart Earnings, Debt Ceiling Talks

Stocks Rally Following Strong Walmart Earnings, Debt Ceiling Talks

Stocks largely rose on Friday as investors follow the developments in the U.S. government’s debt ceiling talks and a positive Walmart earnings report instills confidence in consumer spending.

The S&P 500 rose by 0.94%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 115 points or 0.34%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged by 1.51%.

While U.S. President Joe Biden revealed no concrete debt ceiling plan before departing for his trip to Asia on Wednesday, however, investor confidence has grown amid reports of progress in negotiations. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stated that Wednesday’s discussion “set the the stage to carry on further conversations.”

“We are starting to see enough common themes in their views to feel confident that a deal is going to be announced in relatively short order,” Jefferies US Economist Thomas Simmons commented, adding that a deal needs to be reached before the June 1 deadline so as to avoid an unprecedented default on government loans.

Investor confidence was also boosted by Walmart’s first-quarter earnings, with the retail giant reporting a higher same-store sales growth that outpaced Wall Street estimates. Walmart consequently boosted its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast from a range of $5.90-$6.05 to a range of $6.10-$6.20.

U.S. Futures Mixed as Investors Observe Labor Data

Futures on the New York Stock Exchange were mixed on Thursday as investors analyzed labor data to gauge the potential path forward for interest...

JetBlue Stock Jumps Following Adjusted Forecast

JetBlue Airways shares jumped by 7% in premarket trading on Thursday after the U.S. airline narrowed its annual adjusted loss forecast. With a previous...

Toyota to Sell Entire Stake in Harmonic Drive Systems

Harmonic Drive Systems, a Japanese maker of speed reducers, confirmed that Toyota Motors is set to sell its entire share in the company. Following...