Shares of retailers and other consumer companies rose after strong home-sales data.
New home sales increased 1% in July compared with June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 708,000.
Other statistics in the data suggested demand for completed homes still far outweighed supply, said analysts at research firm Benchmark, "giving us more confidence this cycle is far from over."
Fast-food chain McDonald's named new marketing chiefs for the U.S. and its global operations amid a push for more effective marketing aimed at boosting its brand and customer-experience efforts.
"While retail sales fell in July, our economists view it as a shift away from goods into services," said strategists at brokerage Barclays, in a note to clients.
Best Buy delivered revenue and earnings growth ahead of analyst expectations in the latest quarter, managing to brush past Covid-19 pandemic disruptions. Walmart drivers will soon be making deliveries for other merchants, as it opens the in-house delivery platform Spark Driver to other businesses.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-24-21 1723ET
