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Retail sales figures boost US stocks Retail sales figures boost US stocks
(about 7 hours later)
(Open): Stocks on Wall Street opened higher on Thursday, with positive US retail sales data lightening the mood after Wednesday's downturn. (Close): Stocks on Wall Street rose on Thursday, with positive US retail sales data lightening the mood after Wednesday's downturn.
In early trade, the Dow Jones rose 105.38 points or 0.6% to 17,638.53. The Dow Jones rose 63.19 points or 0.36% to 17,596.33.
The broad-based S&P 500 was 14.31 points or 0.71% higher at 2,040.45, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 30.14 points or 0.64% to 4,714.16. The broad-based S&P 500 was 9 points or 0.45% higher at 2,035.30, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 24 points or 0.52% to 4,708.16.
Retail sales in November went up 0.7% from the previous month to $449.3bn, Commerce Department figures indicated.Retail sales in November went up 0.7% from the previous month to $449.3bn, Commerce Department figures indicated.
The news provided relief from the relentless fall in oil prices. In New York, light sweet crude fell below $60 a barrel for the first time since July 2009.
"Investors are watching oil and they don't know what to make of it," Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank told AFP.