Wal Mart shares surged to a record high Thursday morning
jumping as much as 7% after it raised its full
year forecast and posted quarterly sales and profit. That
topped expectations. The largest US retailer is betting that
easing inflation will drive stronger sales of groceries and non
essential merchandise like clothing and electronics. Wal Mart's solid
performance could lessen some investors fears about ebbing us consumer
spending one long time. Wal Mart analyst told Reuters
this was about as good a quarter as he could
remember us. Comparable store sales excluding fuel rose nearly
4% when analysts were looking for a hair over 3%
during a post earnings call. Wal Mart's Finance Chief
said that inflation on its product range increased by about
4/10 of one percent in the quarter and anticipate similar
inflation levels to persist throughout the rest of the year
. Online sales in the United States surged 22%.
Surpassing the 17% growth it posted during the typically robust
holiday season. Wal Mart attributed this to households making
more than$100,000 per year. Americans have generally managed
to navigate through higher prices but long inflation has sparked
worries lower income consumers might be more pressured and slow
down their spending. They maintain their spending levels during
the quarter but are looking for cheaper products. Wal
Mart also said shoppers were increasingly making food at home
rather than eating out and were really attracted to the
45% increase in price cuts that it offered on food
and consumables in April.