Walmart boosts forecast after beating estimates

Walmart set a high bar for other U.S. merchants by posting strong second-quarter sales and boosting its full-year outlook—even with the Trump administration escalating its trade war with China. The shares rose as much as 7 percent on Thursday, the most intraday since last August.Comparable sales excluding fuel for Walmart stores in the U.S. rose 2.8 percent in the period, beating analysts’ estimates. Primarily driving the result was a higher average ticket, or how much