Stocks rose on Thursday, gaining back some of the steep losses in the previous session, as retail giant Walmart's strong result and positive economic data helped lift investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 66.32 points to open Thursday at 25,545.74
The S&P 500 regained 12.18 points to 2,852.78
The NASDAQ recouped 15.82 points to 7,789.76
Walmart reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its outlook for the year, sending its stock 5.5% higher Thursday.
Cisco shares plunged 6% after it said future earnings would be lighter than expected because of a “significant impact” from the U.S.-China trade war. The tech giant also said China revenue fell 25% last quarter on an annualized basis.
Shares of General Electric dropped more than 5% after Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolos said he has discovered "an Enronesque business approach that has left GE on the verge of insolvency."
Markets erased earlier losses in the morning after Hua Chunying, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China "hopes the U.S. will meet China halfway and implement the consensus reached by the two leaders during their meeting in Osaka," fueling optimism for a resolution between the two countries.
Also helping the market on Thursday were a slew of economic data that showed a relatively strong U.S. economy. Retail salesrose solidly in July and beat expectations, which is a sign of consumer optimism. The U.S. productivity also grew a healthy 2.3% rate in the second quarter.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained a small bit of ground, easing yields to 1.57% from Wednesday's 1.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices dipped 40 cents to $54.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell 90 cents to $1,526.90 U.S. an ounce.