Wall Street stocks popped on Thursday, as investors weighed hotter-than-expected retail sales and wholesale price inflation data for a steer on what path the Federal Reserve will take on rates policy.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) ticked up almost 1%, or about 330 points. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added around 0.8%, as British chipmaker Arm (ARM) popped more than 25% in its public debut.
Despite much anticipation, markets were little moved Wednesday by an uptick in the August consumer inflation report. That wouldn’t be enough to prompt the Fed to change course, economists said.
Thursday’s reading on retail sales for the same month came in stronger than they were in July, underscoring how the US consumer has remained resilient despite rising interest rates. Sales grew 0.6% on the month, compared with 0.1% expected, picking up steam as…
