Wal-Mart helps push Dow higher

An improving sales outlook at Wal-Mart Stores sent US stocks higher today as investors, also cheered by a jump in factory orders, looked past another uptick in the price of oil.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 68.36, or 0.7%, to 10,371.80.

Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 10.55, or 0.88%, to 1,204.99, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 21.38, or 1%, to 2,078.75.

Wal-Mart raised its sales projection for June to the highest level since May 2004. That means “2% of the economy is coming out and saying their sales are better than forecast”, said John Lynch, chief market analyst at Evergreen Investments. “That’s the best news of the day.”

Investors also latched on to the strongest increase in factory orders in 14 months.

Although most of the gain reflected demand for aircraft and parts, the data also indicated that June orders may have been stronger than May.

Wal-Mart’s news was particularly comforting to Wall Street because the retailer and a number of other discounters had partly attributed sluggish sales gains to higher gas prices that limited consumers’ ability to spend on non-necessities.

The upbeat outlook allowed investors to shrug off oil’s higher price.