Equities on Wall Street popped at the open Thursday as hotter than expected retail sales numbers and wholesale price inflation data was being weighed in an effort to divine the path the Federal Reserve will take on interest rates at their September 19-20 meeting..

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.5%, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), inched up 0.4% or roughly 150 points. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose about 0.6%, as the chipmaker Arm Holdings was preparing to debut on the market.

An uptick in the August consumer inflation report had little effect on the markets Wednesday, as economists noted it was not enough to have any effect on Fed policy decisions.

Retail sales, which came in Thursday, were stronger than July, highlighting the resiliency of the US consumer in spite of rising interest rates. Sales were up 0.6% over the previous month, compared with a 0.1% expected rise. The growth came as consumers were forced to pay more for gas due to rising prices.

The producer price index was up 0.7% for August, an increase over the 0.4% reading of the previous month according to data released on Thursday, Economists noted it was a sign that inflation continues to remain stubbornly persistent in spite of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy. Meanwhile, core wholesale inflation was up 2.2%, down from July’s 2.4% print.

Now attention will turn to the stock market debut of British chipmaker Arm Holdings on the Nasdaq Thursday, following a pricing at the top of the range at $51 per share by the SoftBank-backed chip designer, for a $54.5 billion valuation.

Also being watched was the continuing rally in oil prices, which have a significant effect on inflation and the market. On Thursday, both WTI crude (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) futures were trading near 10-month highs.

In other news, the European Central Bank (ECB) increased interest rates at a tenth consecutive meeting, raising their benchmark rate to 4%. It is the highest level it has hit since the launch of the euro in 1999. The regulator also increased its inflation forecast, saying it would remain too high for too long.