Stock futures nudged higher Thursday as Wall Street looked to two key signals of US consumer health, as well as more insight on the jobs market. Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) rose 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) pointed up 0.2%.

In focus early Thursday were earnings from retail giant Walmart (WMT) and monthly government retail sales data. Both data points could help address building questions about the resilience of US consumers.

For its part, Walmart shares surged nearly 6% after a largely positive report in which it posted both earnings and revenue beats. The company also raised its full-year outlook.

The retail sales data, meanwhile, is set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect an increase of 0.3% month over month in July, which would be a boost from June's flat reading — which, nevertheless, was better than expected.

Also in focus is the normally routine update on weekly jobless claims. Last week, those claims fell more than forecast, sparking a market surge that has largely pervaded throughout this week. As Yahoo Finance's Josh Schafer writes, as inflation continues to ebb, the jobs market is "where the action is going to be" for the Fed in the near future.

After a brutal start to August, stocks have been on a tear, including in Wednesday's session after the Consumer Price Index posted its slowest year-over-year increase since early 2021. The S&P 500 has nearly recouped all of its losses from a sell-off that began at the start of the month.