Stocks climbed higher Thursday as investor confidence rose following more encouraging economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 550 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.6% and 2.3%, respectively.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +1.61% or +88.01 points to 5,543.22

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +1.39% or +554.67 points to 40,563.06

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +2.34% or +401.89 points to 17,594.50

Moving Markets:

U.S. Retail Sales rose at a better-than-expected rate in July as consumers continued to spend as inflationary pressures continue to ease across the economy.

Retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 1% last month, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, blowing past economist expectations for a 0.3% increase. June sales were downwardly revised to show a decline of 0.2% after initially being reported at flat month-to-month. Excluding auto-sales, retail sales increased 0.4%, also beating expectations.

"Once again, this was further evidence that the U.S. consumer still has the ability to surprise to the upside," Richard de Chazal, macro analyst at William Blair, wrote in a note to clients, quoted by CNBC. "This was another solid report, and inconsistent with a consumer who is on the brink of collapse."

On the Earnings Front:

Walmart (WMT  ) reported strong second-quarter earnings Thursday and raised its full-year outlook as the retailer benefited from more visits and grocery sales during the quarter. Notably, comparable sales for Walmart U.S. rose 4.2%, excluding fuel, compared with the year-ago period, while e-commerce sales jumped 22% in the U.S. and 21% globally.

"Each part of our business is growing -- store and club sales are up, e-commerce is compounding as we layer on pickup and even faster growth in delivery as our speed improves," CEO Doug McMillon said in a release. "Our newer businesses like marketplace, advertising, and membership, are also contributing, diversifying our profits and reinforcing the resilience of our business model."

For its full-year, Walmart expects sales to increase by 3.75% to 4.75%, with adjusted earnings between $2.35 and $2.43 per share, compared with previous guidance growth of 3% to 4% and adjusted earnings between $2.23 and $2.37 per share.

Cisco Systems (CSCO  ) also delivered better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings late Wednesday, and announced a 7% cut of its global workforce as part of a broader restructuring plan. The company said in a filing that its restructuring plan will result in $1 billion pretax charges and will "allow it to invest in key growth opportunities and drive more efficiencies in its business."

Cisco said $700 million to $800 million of those charges will be shown in its current quarter, with the rest impacting its financials throughout fiscal 2025.

In Single-Stock News:

Ulta Beauty (ULTA  ) shares popped higher on Thursday as Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A  ) revealed a stake in the beauty retailer, according to Warren Buffett's conglomerate's quarterly 13-F filing released Wednesday. Berkshire bought 690,000 shares of ULTA worth $266 million at the end of the second quarter. Moreover, Berkshire eliminated its 6.1 million share holdings worth $1.2 billion of Snowflake (SNOW  ), which it purchased at the time of the software company's initial public offering in 2020.

For Friday:

Market participants will access housing market data for July as well as a consumer sentiment preliminary reading for August on Friday. Earnings reports also include Applied Materials (AMAT  ).