U.S. Stocks Climb as Retail Sales and Jobless Claims Beat Expectations

Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow all rose, driven by strong retail data and low jobless claims; networking and oil service stocks lead market gains.

The Nasdaq advanced 153.78 points or 0.7% to 20,884.27, the S&P 500 climbed 33.66 points or 0.5% to 6,297.36 and the Dow rose 229.71 points or 0.5% to 44,484.49.

Commerce department released a report showing retail sales rebounded by much more than expected in June. The report said retail sales climbed by 0.6% in June after slumping by 0.9% in May. Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1%. Excluding a jump in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still rose by 0.5% in June after edging down by 0.2% in May. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3%.

Labor Department published a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped to a three-month low in the week ended July 12th. It said the initial jobless claims fell to 221,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000. It also released another report showing import prices in the U.S. inched up by less than expected in the month of June.

Networking stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index surging by 2.0%. Oil service stocks too were significantly strong amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 1.7%. Financial, steel and software stocks too strongly moved upwards while pharmaceutical and healthcare stocks came under pressure over the course of the session.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.6%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4%. The major European markets too moved upside while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.5%, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.3% and 1.5%.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction over the course of the session before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 4.46%.

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