Nasdaq jumps over 2%; Walmart earnings beat expectations – Walmart (NYSE:WMT)

US stocks rose in mid-market trading, with the Nasdaq Composite up more than 2 percent on Thursday.

The Dow rose 1.25% to 40,509.36, while the NASDAQ rose 2.24% to 17,577.21. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining 1.51% to 5,537.70.

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Leading and lagging sectors

Shares in the cyclical consumer goods sector rose 2.8 percent on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, shares of the utility companies fell 0.3 percent.

Top headline

Walmart InC WMT announced strong second-quarter results and raised its full-year guidance.

The retailer reported adjusted earnings per share of 67 cents (+9.8% y/y), beating the consensus forecast of 64 cents. Revenue was $169.34 billion, up 4.8% year over year or 5.0% in constant currency, beating the consensus forecast of $168.57 billion.

Stock trading increases

• Cingulate Inc. INGING Shares rose 123% to $4.1299 after the company was granted European patent No. 3261625 for CTx-1301, its lead product for the treatment of ADHD.
• Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ASTS received a boost, rising 28% to $26.58 after the company announced that the launch of its first five commercial satellites into orbit was on schedule in the first half of September.
• SciSparc Ltd. SPRC Shares also gained, rising 43% to $0.4599, after the company announced court approval to convene a shareholder meeting to approve a merger with AutoMax.

Stock trading declining

• Turnstone Biologics Corp. TSBX Shares fell 52% to $1.0598 after the company reported worse-than-expected second-quarter EPS results.
• Shares of SIGA Technologies, Inc. siga fell 33% to $8.06 after the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health announced that topline results from a preliminary analysis of the PALM 007 study of tecovirimat against monkeypox virus did not meet their primary endpoint.
• Terran Orbital Corporation LLP was down, falling 40% to $0.2381. Lockheed Martin announced plans to acquire Terran Orbital.

Raw materials

In commodities, oil prices rose 1.5% to $78.19, while gold prices rose 0.5% to $2,492.00.

Silver rose 3.9 percent to $28,395 on Thursday, while copper rose 3 percent to $4.16.

Eurozone

European stocks were higher today, with the euro zone’s STOXX 600 up 1.18%, Germany’s DAX up 1.67% and France’s CAC 40 up 1.25%. Spain’s IBEX 35 index rose 1.16%, while London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.74%.

The UK economy grew by 0.9% year-on-year in the second quarter, recording the highest annual growth rate since the third quarter of 2022. Labour productivity in the UK rose by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter. The UK trade deficit narrowed to £5.32 billion in June, from a revised £5.77 billion in the previous month. UK industrial production rose 0.8% month-on-month in June.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region

Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday: Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.78 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.03 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.94 percent.

Industrial production in Japan fell 4.2% month-on-month in June, while the Japanese economy grew 3.1% year-on-year in the second quarter. China’s retail sales rose 2.7% year-on-year in July, against market estimates of 2.6%. China’s industrial production rose 5.1% year-on-year in July.

Business

• US retail sales rose 1% month-on-month in July, compared with a 0.2% decline in June, beating the market estimate for a 0.3% increase.
• The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell to -7 in August from 13.9 in July, versus market estimates of 7.
• The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index rose to -4.7 in August, reaching its highest level in six months.
• Export prices rose 0.7% in July compared to the previous month, while import prices rose 0.1%.
• In the US, initial jobless claims fell 7,000 to 227,000 in the week ended August 10, compared to market estimates of 235,000.
• US industrial production fell 0.6 percent month-on-month in July, compared with a revised increase of 0.3 percent in June.
• The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to 39 in August, reaching its lowest level so far in 2024.
• Total business inventories increased 0.3% month-on-month in June, compared with a 0.5% increase in the previous month.
• U.S. natural gas inventories fell 6 billion cubic feet in the week ended August 9.

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