CNBC Daily Open: Live long and prosper

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Winning streak
Wall Street rallied as strong retail sales and labor data eased recession fears. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched their sixth consecutive day of gains, rising 1.61% and 2.34% respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 554 points. All three indexes have recovered to their levels before the global stock market rout on Aug. 5. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose, while U.S. oil prices climbed 1.3% as recession fears eased.

Consumer health
Walmart’s shares rose 6.5% after the discounter boosted its annual sales and profit forecasts and second-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates. While traders have been on the lookout for signs of economic weakness, CFO John David Rainey told CNBC Walmart has not seen a shift in consumer behavior. “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.”

Retail sales
Consumer spending defied expectations in July, with retail sales jumping 1%, significantly higher than the 0.3% forecast. This positive momentum also extended to the labor market, with jobless claims falling to a four-month low, signaling a resilient economy amid easing inflation concerns. Initial unemployment benefit claims for the week ending Aug. 10 totaled 227,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week and lower than the estimate for 235,000.

Renewed confidence
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby expressed renewed confidence in Boeing’s recovery after meeting with the plane maker’s new CEO. United, which has 484 unfilled Boeing orders, has expressed frustrations about the aircraft maker’s troubles, which have delayed deliveries. Kirby had lunch with Boeing’s new CEO Robert Ortberg earlier this week. In a LinkedIn post on Thursday, Kirby said he “came away with a renewed confidence that Boeing is on the right path and will recover faster than most expect.” Ortberg also met with American Airlines CEO Robert Isom earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Streaming wars
As legacy media companies vie for both viewership and profitability in the streaming wars, CNBC’s Alex Sherman uncovers the inside story of what drove executives at Comcast‘s NBCUniversal to splash out $2.45 billion annually for 11 years to secure NBA games for its Peacock streaming service. But with competition from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, the question remains: Will this massive investment be enough to ensure…