[New York Stock Market Briefing] 'Retail Sales' Eased Tariff Concerns... S&P, Nasdaq Reach Record Highs

The three major stock indices in the New York stock market rose together. With U.S. companies generally posting strong earnings and consumer indicators showing a sharp rebound, the market was relieved.

On the 17th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 229.71 points (0.52%) at 44,484.49. The S&P 500 index rose 33.66 points (0.54%) to close at 6,297.36, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 153.78 points (0.73%) to finish at 20,884.27.

On this day, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices broke all-time highs again after just two days. Stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer indicators and second-quarter earnings from companies pushed stock indices higher.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. retail sales in June, adjusted for seasonality, increased 0.6% from the previous month to $720.1 billion. The market forecast was a 0.1% increase. Earlier in May, retail sales had plummeted 0.9% from the prior month.

Notably, 'core retail sales' (control group), which excludes highly volatile items like autos, gasoline, building materials, and food services, also rose 0.5% over the previous month.

Companies also posted strong earnings.

United Airlines' stock rose 3% on results that beat market expectations. PepsiCo also jumped 7% after its second-quarter earnings beat forecasts.

Netflix also posted second-quarter earnings that exceeded estimates. Announced after the close, Netflix's Q2 revenue was $11.08 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) was $7.19—both slightly above forecasts.

Among the tech giants with a market capitalization above $1 trillion, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Broadcom were strong, again setting all-time highs. NVIDIA's market cap reached $4.2212 trillion.

U.S. AI defense company Palantir also rose 2%, hitting a new record high.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Group saw its shares soar by 36%. News that at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles will be operated as robotaxis through Uber's ride-sharing platform over the next six years fueled buying sentiment.

Shin Min-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter radio@hankyung.com