(Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose on Thursday, helped by a string of robust earnings reports, a dip in the dollar and after China said it will hold talks with the United States later this month.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Walmart’s shares (WMT.N) surged 9.2 percent, the most on the benchmark S&P 500 index, after the retailer said its U.S. comparable sales grew the most in a decade and posted strong e-commerce sales.
Its strong quarterly report lifted the S&P retailers index .SPXRT up 0.59 percent.
Cisco (CSCO.O) jumped 4.3 percent after posting quarterly results and first-quarter sales forecast that topped Wall Street expectations.
Industrials .SPLRCI rose 0.94 percent on hopes that Beijing and Washington may resolve a conflict that has roiled financial markets since early March. Shares of trade-sensitive companies Boeing (BA.N) rose 3.2 percent and Caterpillar 2.1 percent.
“Markets are looking for a rebound after Wednesday’s sell-off on news of U.S. and China resuming talks,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
“Any hopes of some sort of an agreement would relieve worries of a trade war and the markets would be able to focus on the macro news and earnings.”
The greenback fell with investors buying back into currencies that were hit hard in the recent selloff, while the lira TRY= rallied after Turkey's finance minister said his country will come out of the current market volatility stronger.
The KBW bank index .BKX gained 1.06 percent as bank stocks gained and eased fears of investors who fretted about exposure to Turkey.
At 9:52 a.m. EDT the
