Wal-Mart Sees U.S. Sales Rebounding

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT), the world’s largest retailer, said Wednesday it expects a run of nine consecutive quarters of declining sales at its U.S. stores open at least a year to come to an end.

Same-store sales at these core U.S. sites have been rebounding during the past three months, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited executives who spoke at Wal-Mart’s annual meeting with analysts.

Wal-Mart’s shares rose $1.54, or 2.8%, to $56.26 in morning trading.

Wal-Mart will release its next quarterly earnings report in November.

Wal-Mart’s U.S. president Bill Simon said U.S. sales have been on an “upward trend” since about May, and that same-store sales for the three months ending in September have been positive, the Journal reported.

U.S. consumers have been cautious with their spending in the face of a difficult labor market and declining home values that have pinched savings.

In addition to the sales forecast, Wal-Mart officials are expected to outline for analysts strategies for expanding their international sales, according to the Journal.