CORRECTED-US STOCKS-Target, Lowe's earnings push Wall St higher ahead of Fed minutes

(Corrects to show movement of indexes instead of index futures
in paragraph 8 and percentage change in last bullet)
* Target, Lowe's jump after better-than-expected results
* Banks rise as U.S. Treasury yields tick higher
* Minutes from Fed's July meeting due at 2 p.m. ET
* Toll Brothers slips after posting decline in orders
* Indexes up: Dow 1.04%, S&P 0.80%, Nasdaq 0.84%

By Medha Singh
Aug 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose about 1%
on Wednesday, as upbeat earnings from retailers Lowe's and
Target reinforced confidence in consumer demand, while investors
awaited the release of the Fed minutes for further clues on the
path of interest rate cuts.
Big-box retailer Target Corp TGT.N surged 19.5%, set for
its biggest one-day percentage jump, after it raised its annual
earnings forecast. Home improvement chain Lowe's Cos Inc LOW.N
climbed 9.8% as it joined bigger rival Home Depot Inc HD.N in
beating profit estimates. The reports come on the heels of solid earnings from Walmart
Inc WMT.N and strong retail sales data last week that allayed
fears of a U.S. recession.
Together their shares helped the retail index .SPXRT rise
2.24% and consumer discretionary sector .SPLRCD 1.78%, the
most among the major S&P sectors.
"Investors are counting on the strength of consumer
spending," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane
Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New
Jersey.
"When they see good earnings in the sector, it gives them
some confidence, particularly when there is a lot of concern
about non-internet retailers."
Adding to the upbeat sentiment, Bank of America Corp BAC.N
Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan played down fears of a
potential U.S. recession and said strong consumer spending could
keep the economy growing. At 13:52 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 270.74 points, or 1.04%, at 26,233.18, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 23.28 points, or 0.80%, at 2,923.79. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 67.16 points, or 0.84%, at 8,015.72.
The highlight of the day will be the minutes from the
Federal Reserve's July meeting, when it cut interest rates for
the first time in more than a decade. The details of the meeting
are due to be released at 2 p.m. ET.
As U.S.-China trade tensions took a turn for the worse since
the Fed's move last month and added to risks of slowing economic
growth, investors will closely monitor comments from Chair
Jerome Powell on Friday at the Jackson Hole Symposium for clues
on what more the central bank plans to do to boost growth.
Meckler expects to see a dovish tone in Powell's speech,
"not so much because the U.S. is having economic problems but
its a recognition of the fact that the rest of the world is
having an economic slowdown."
Yields in U.S. Treasuries bonds ticked higher on Wednesday,
a day after their fall pressured Wall Street and paused a strong
rebound from last week's selloff on recession fears.
All S&P sectors were higher with the defensive utilities
.SPLRCU , consumer staples .SPLRCS and real estate .SPLRCR
sectors posting the smallest gains, reflecting investor appetite
for risk.
Toll Brothers Inc TOL.N slipped 3.8% after the luxury
homebuilder posted a decline in orders, hinting at weaker demand
for new homes. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.73-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.22-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 26 new 52-week highs and four new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 55 new highs and 56 new lows.