US-listed gambling stocks soared on Friday after a new retail report showed stronger than expected sales performance for the month of June.

According to the report published by the US Census Bureau, retail sales increased by 1% month-on-month in June.

The rise came in ahead of consensus forecasts at 0.8% and marked a major improvement on the 0.1% fall recorded in May.

The report provided a confidence boost for investors and an uplift in market sentiment.

It showed that consumers spent more on a wide range of goods in June, including on food and gas, despite inflation hitting a new four-decade high only recently.

This rise was primarily driven by gas stations amid rising fuel prices, with sales up 3.6% on the prior month. Excluding gas stations, US retail sales still rose by 0.7% in June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 600 points, or 2.2% as a result, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.9% and 1.8% respectively.

DraftKings led the charge for US-listed gambling stocks, rocketing 14.6% between market open and market close on Friday 15 July to end up at $12.86 per share.

This resulted in a one-week uptick of 12.5% for the Boston-based sports betting operator, which shareholders will be hoping represents a turnaround for the beleaguered stock. Shares in DraftKings are still down 80.1% from their 52-week high of $64.58.

Rush Street Interactive also surfed the wave with an 8.8% daily rise, while Penn National Gaming (7.7%) and Caesars Entertainment (6.4%) also reaped the benefits.

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