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Early Equities Roundup: Retail Sales Helps Stocks Hit 2-Week Highs

US STOCKS
  • Thursday's better than expected Retail Sales data helped stocks rally to the best levels since the beginning of August, led by strong gains in Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology sector shares.
  • Currently, the DJIA trades up 422.14 points (1.06%) at 40430.41, S&P E-Minis up 73.25 points (1.34%) at 5550.25, Nasdaq up 328.5 points (1.9%) at 17520.06.
  • Rebounding from midweek selling, autos, broadline retailers and apparel buoyed the Consumer Discretionary sector in the first half: Ulta Beauty +10.76% after Berkshire Hathaway announced a new stake in the company, Tesla +7.1%, Lululemon +5.92%.
  • Of note, Walmart surged 6.55% after beating earnings estimates, climbing to a new highs over 76.60.
  • Semiconductor makers continued to support the IT sector: Cisco +8.36%, Super Micro +5.41%, Micron +4.94% with a broad swath of stocks from Applied Materials to Qualcomm +3-4% before noon.
  • On the flipside, Utilities and Real Estate sector shares underperformed in the first half, electricity/multi-energy shares weighing on the former: Eversource -2.51%, Consolidated Edison -1.85%, Evergy -1.12%. Investment trust shares weighed on the Real Estate sector: American Tower -1.63%, Welltower and Ventas both -1.42%, SBA Communications -1.38%.

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