September S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESU24) are up +0.15%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU24) are up +0.28% this morning as growing optimism that the U.S. will avoid a recession buoyed sentiment, while investors looked ahead to U.S. consumer confidence data and comments from a Federal Reserve official.
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s major indexes closed higher, with the benchmark S&P 500, blue-chip Dow, and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 notching 2-week highs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) surged over +11% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 after a 13F filing revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased approximately 690,000 shares of the company, valued at around $266 million, during the second quarter. Also, Cisco Systems (CSCO) climbed more than +6% and was the top percentage gainer on the Dow after the company posted upbeat Q4 results, provided solid Q1 guidance, and announced plans to cut its global workforce by about 7%. In addition, Walmart (WMT) gained over +6% after the retail giant reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results and raised its FY25 guidance. On the bearish side, Dillard’s (DDS) plunged more than -10% after reporting weaker-than-expected Q2 results.
