S&P 500 Climbs on Strong Retail Sales, Signaling Robust U.S. Consumer Market

The stock market closed out the week with a positive note on Friday as optimism surrounding retail sales data fueled gains for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average. Following a slight dip on Thursday amid uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy, Wall Street responded positively to the latest retail sales figures, which rose by 0.5% in July, exceeding expectations.