NY Stock Market Closes Strong on Robust Retail Sales

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Strong performance of retail companies and an increase in retail sales drove the rise of major indices in the New York stock market.

On the 16th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54.77 points (0.15%) to close at 36,142.22, the S&P 500 index increased by 18.10 points (0.39%) to 4,700.90, and the Nasdaq index rose 120.01 points (0.76%) to close at 15,973.86.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The strong October retail sales announced before the market opened, along with better-than-expected earnings from retailers Walmart and Home Depot, led the gains that day.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, October retail sales increased by 1.7% compared to the previous month, surpassing the market expectation of 1.5%. The fact that spending increased despite the rising burden on consumers due to soaring inflation was a positive factor.

Investment bank Jefferies explained, "There is no evidence that consumers are tightening their wallets despite soaring inflation and worsening consumer sentiment."

The strong retail sales were also confirmed in the earnings of retail companies. Walmart and Home Depot reported results that exceeded Wall Street expectations. Walmart's stock price fell 2.5%, but Home Depot's stock rose 5.7%. Ross, which will announce earnings the following day, rose about 4%, and Target increased about 1%.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield showed little fluctuation that day, providing a foundation for the rise in tech stocks.

Tesla, which had fallen below $1,000 the previous day, rose 4%, showing signs of recovery from the correction. Rivian, emerging as a competitor to Tesla in the electric vehicle sector, rose 15% that day, and Lucid soared 23%.

Semiconductor-related stocks were strong, with AMD up 4% and Qualcomm rising 7.9%.

Robinhood fell 3.1% amid evaluations that it lacked upward momentum. Coinbase's stock price dropped 0.9% as Bitcoin fell below $60,000 during the trading session.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.