S&P 500, Nasdaq end at record highs after solid US retail data
Traders working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York City, on July 17.
NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks rose to fresh record highs on July 17 as markets focused on solid US retail sales data and corporate earnings rather than lingering worries about President Donald Trump's tariffs.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to 6,297.36, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 per cent to 20,884.27, its fourth straight closing record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 per cent to 44,484.49.
Analysts expect the bullish sentiment in the markets to continue until there is a reason for it to stop.
Investors are taking a wait-and-see approach to Mr Trump's Aug 1 tariff deadline and not overthinking the president's denial that he plans to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
'Right now, as long as the markets don't have a reason to sell off, they're going to go up,' said Mr Steve Sosnick, of Interactive Brokers. 'The news on the economy this week has been good enough.'
Investors were wary heading into second-quarter earnings season, but 'the data so far and the earnings are coming in better than expected,' said Mr Jack Ablin, of Cresset Capital Management.
US retail sales climbed 0.6 per cent in June to US$720.1 billion (S$926 billion), reversing the 0.9 per cent decline in May and easily topping analyst expectations.
But with tariffs and inflation a growing worry, the strong retail sales trend appears likely to moderate, said Mr Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.
'However, it is still unlikely that the consumer will fall into a full-blown recession – especially so if interest rates come down,' Mr Saunders said.
Among individual companies, United Airlines climbed 3.1 per cent as it offered an upbeat outlook on travel demand in the second half of 2025 despite reporting a drop in second-quarter profits.
PepsiCo was another outperformer, winning 7.5 per cent as analysts cited its revenue growth after three straight quarters of lower sales. AFP
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