Stocks Opened Higher on Upbeat Earnings, Trade Talk Optimism

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, helped by a string of robust earnings reports and after China said it will hold trade talks with the United States later this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 319.68 points, or 1.27%, to 25,482.09. The S&P 500 gained 19.23 points, or 0.68%, to 2,837.60. The Nasdaq Composite added 45.34 points, or 0.58%, to 7,819.46.

Walmart (WMT) reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.29 per share, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.22. Management raised its full-year EPS guidance to a range of $4.90 to $5.05 per share, up from previous guidance of $4.75 to $5.00.

J.C. Penney Co Inc posted disappointing results. Net losses widened to $101 million, or 32 cents per share, in the second quarter ended Aug. 4 from $48 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier.

Oil futures traded near unchanged levels Thursday, attempting to stabilize a day after a surprise rise in U.S. crude inventories and a broader commodity rout took the U.S. benchmark to a more-than-two-month low. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down 1 cent at $65 a barrel. October Brent crude rose 1 cent to $70.86 a barrel.