The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened slightly higher after consumer commerce data showed a surprise rise in retail sales last month.
Sales of clothes, sporting goods and cars were all up, in defiance of gloomy warnings over the impact of trade tariffs and a slowing labour market.
The sales figures did little to change expectations that the Federal Reserve will make its first rate cut of the year tomorrow. The Nasdaq and S&P 500, which both closed at record highs last night, helped by robust gains in Tesla and Alphabet, both started the session up 0.02 per cent. The Dow Jones was down 0.2 per cent.
Oracle opened up 5.5 per cent after reports that the cloud computing giant is among a consortium of firms that would enable TikTok to continue operating in the US under a new framework deal set to be agreed in the next month.
Among other stocks, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment fell 15 per cent after the entertainment and dining venues operator…
