Other focal points impacting today’s trade included a rebound in the dollar and leadership from the heavily-weighted health care, industrial and consumer discretionary sectors.
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Investors also bought up shares in several other retail chains. For stocks to move higher from here, the key will be earnings growth, he said.
Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose by around half a percent yesterday, while the Dow Jones was up by more than 0.6% to bring all three to fresh highs on the same day – the first time this has happened since 1999. In 2.49pm trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.5 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite was down 20.54 points, or 0.39 percent, at 5,204.94. Phone company stocks are also up. The retailers’ earnings fueled optimism for the US government’s latest monthly tally of retail sales Friday. On Friday, J.C. Penney said a pickup in sales helped trim the chain’s second-quarter loss from a year earlier.
EYE ON CONSUMERS: In the absence of major economic news, investors monitored company earnings, most of which have now been reported. The S&P 500’s financial component also rose 0.2%. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, was up 40 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $46.44 a barrel in London. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 86 cents, or 2 percent, at $41.92 per barrel in NY. Brent crude, used to price global oils, fell back, losing 16 cents to $45.88 a barrel.
PAINFUL QUARTER: Shares in Concordia International slumped 27.3 percent after the drugmaker reported disappointing sales, cut its annual forecasts and suspended its dividend. The company said its power plant business is struggling amid growing competition and project delays. The energy sector advanced 1.3% on the news, including a 4.8% jump in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), which announced it would pay almost $340 million to exit the Barnett Shale in Texas.
FASHIONABLE RESULTS: Watch and accessories maker Fossil Group and clothing company Ralph Lauren surged after the retailers delivered strong quarterly results. The stock added $4.18 to $36.82.
“The earnings beats that we’re getting are, to a large extent, being driven by better revenue performance”, Mr Lefkowitz said. South Korea’s KOSPI slid 0.3 percent to 2,038.73 following the South Korean central bank’s decision to maintain its monetary police rate. Natural gas fell 5 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $2.56 per 1,000 cubic feet. Britain’s FTSE 100 jumped 0.7 percent to 6,914.71. On the Nasdaq, 1,568 issues rose and 644 fell.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: The DAX index in Germany fell 0.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 was slid 0.1 percent. Thursday’s selling has run the U.S. 10-year yield up to 1.54% while swinging the yield curve a bit steeper to 83.5 basis points.
A rally since late June has pushed the S&P 500 up more than 6 percent in 2016 as low interest rates encourage investors to buy US equities, although high valuations are of concern to many. Kimco Realty slid 72 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $30.35.
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The S&P energy index jumped 1.58 percent, making it the top gainer among the 10 major sectors, led by a 1.45 percent gain in Chevron. In currency markets, the dollar weakened to 101.31 yen from 101.90 on Tuesday, while the euro strengthened to $1.1169 from $1.1107.
