Amazon Stock Is Moving Higher Thursday: What's Going On?

Amazon.com Inc AMZN shares are trading higher Thursday. The stock appears to be benefiting from strong consumer spending data paired with an upbeat outlook from Walmart Inc WMT.

What Happened: According to data released by the Census Bureau on Thursday, retail sales jumped 1% month-over-month in July versus economist expectations for a 0.3% increase. Retail sales climbed 2.7% on a year-over-year basis, up from a downwardly revised 2% in June.

Jobless claims also fell to their lowest levels in five weeks, easing concerns over weakening labor market conditions. Initial jobless claims came in at 227,000 for the week ended Aug. 9, below economist expectations of 235,000 and down from 234,000 in the prior week.

The four-week moving average for weekly jobless claims came in at 236,500, down from 241,000. Continuing claims also crept lower to 1.864 million, down from a revised 1.871 million.

Related Link: Retail Sales Soar In July, Weekly Jobless Claims Undercut Expectations: Traders Lean Towards 25-Basis-Point Cut In September

What Else: Amazon shares may also be getting a lift after Walmart reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

Walmart’s revenue grew 5% year-over-year to $169.335 billion, beating estimates of $168.569 billion. The company reported adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share, beating estimates of 64 cents per share.

Walmart also raised its full-year outlook, now expecting sales to rise by 3.75% to 4.75% and earnings to be between $2.35 and $2.43 per share, up from its prior outlook of $2.23 to $2.37 per share.

In an interview on CNBC following the print, Walmart CFO John David Rainey said the retailer has not noticed a shift in consumer behavior. He noted that each month during the quarter was “relatively consistent” and added that the back-to-school season was off to a “pretty good start.”

"We see, among our members and customers, that they remain choiceful, discerning, value-seeking, focusing on things like essentials rather than discretionary items, but importantly, we don't see any additional fraying of consumer health," Rainey said.

AMZN Price Action: Amazon shares were up 2.93% at $175.09 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Amazon.