Walmart, Ulta up; AT&T down - Midday stock movers

The stock market is rallying after retail sales and jobless figures came in better than expected, easing investor concerns about a potential recession.

Retail sales in July increased by 1%, significantly exceeding the forecasted 0.3% rise. Weekly jobless claims fell to 227K, compared to last week’s 234K and the projected 236K.

The S&P 500 is up 1.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 2.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.3%. The Russell 2000 Index rose 2.8%.

Trending stocks: All Mag 7 stocks are up at midday. Nvidia has risen for the fourth consecutive day, climbing 3% to trade above $120. Tesla added 6%.

In the retail sector, Walmart surged following strong earnings reports. Ulta Beauty's stock surged after Berkshire Hathaway took a stake, while Nike saw an increase after Pershing Square acquired shares. Amazon is up 4%.

Ulta is set to post its Q2 earnings on August 29.

Chicago Tribune/Getty Images

S&P 500 big stock movers today

Five S&P 500 stocks making big midday moves are:

Ulta Beauty Inc (ULTA) +11.3%
Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) +6.9%
Align Technology Inc (ALGN) +6.9%
Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU) +6.8%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) +6.7%

The worst-performing five S&P 500 stocks with the largest midday drop are:

Cboe Global Markets Inc (CBOE) -2.5%
Fair Isaac Corp (FICO) -2.4%
AT&T Inc (T) -2.3%
Eversource Energy (ES) -2.3%
American Tower Corp (AMT) -1.9%

Stocks also worth noting with significant moves include:

Tesla (TSLA) +6.2%
Nvidia (NVDA) +3.3%
Amazon (AMZN) +3.9%
Meta platforms (META) +2.1%
Walmart (WMT) +6.5%

Ulta Beauty pops on Buffett’s bet

Ulta Beauty surged 11% after a filing revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway owned about 690,000 shares worth $266 million in the second quarter.

The transaction is probably handled by Buffett’s portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, who normally oversee Berkshire's smaller stock investments.

Berkshire Hathaway is known for its long-term value investment strategy. Its famous holdings include Apple, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America shares.

Ulta Beauty is an American chain of cosmetic stores headquartered in Illinois. The company earned $6.47 per share in the first quarter ended May 4, compared with the $6.24 expected.

Revenue of $2.73 billion also beat the anticipated $2.72 billion.

The company is set to post its Q2 earnings on August 29.

Cisco surges after earnings beat

Cisco Systems gained 7% after the company released upbeat fiscal Q4 earnings and layoff plans.

During the quarter, the company posted revenue of $13.6 billion, down 10% year-over-year, and earnings of $0.87 per share, down 24%. Both figures exceeded analysts' expectations.

Cisco earned $3.73 per share for the year, down 4%. The full-year revenue was $53.8 billion, a decrease of 6% year over year. The company also plans to lay off about 7% of its workforce as it shifts to artificial intelligence.

Walmart rallies following solid earnings

Walmart surged 6.5% after the company posted upbeat earnings for Q2 FY2025.

The retail giant earned 67 cents adjusted, up 9.8% and exceeding the 65 cents expected. Revenue of $169.34 billion increased 4.8% year over year, beating the $168.63 billion forecast.

Walmart also raised its full-year outlook, expecting sales to rise by 3.75% to 4.75% and adjusted earnings between $2.35 and $2.43 a share.

More Retail Stocks:

However, the company chose not to raise its expectations for the second half of the year, citing concerns about events such as the U.S. election and unrest in the Middle East.

“In this environment, it's responsible or prudent to be a little bit guarded with the outlook, but we're not projecting a recession,” said CFO John David Rainey in an interview with CNBC.

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