US: Wall Street opens higher on retail sales boost

WALL Street’s main indices opened higher on Thursday (Aug 15) as retail sales data for July indicated resilient consumer spending, allaying fears of an imminent recession in the world’s largest economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 287.3 points, or 0.72 per cent, at the open to 40295.74. The S&P 500 rose 45.9 points, or 0.84 per cent, at the open to 5501.13​, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 201.9 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 17394.545 at the opening bell.