Stocks close week on a high amid strong retail spending

The New York Stock Exchange closed the week with significant gains across the major indices following the release of consumer retail spending data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 656.77 points for a 2.14% gain. The Nasdaq Composite saw a slightly more modest gain of  1.79%, rising by 201.24 points. The S&P 500 also gained 72.71 points for an increase of 1.92%.

The strong market performance came after news that U.S. retail sales increased by 1.0% in June from May, an 8.4% increase from the same time last year, according to Reuters. Online retail giant Amazon announced on Thursday that it's most recent Prime Day event saw customers purchase over 300 million items worldwide.

Inflation concerns continue to linger, however. The Consumer Price Index rose by 9.1% in June over the previous year, the largest such increase since 1981. June employment data was strong as the U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held at 3.6%, prompting speculation of further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and significant volatility in the market in early July.