US stocks rise on improved retail sales
09 Apr 2010
US stocks rose on Thursday on unexpectedly strong March retail sales, which lifted the general sentiment amid hopes of an economic recovery.
Retailers' shares were hot favorites with investors after top US chains posted record year-over-year increase in same-store sales for March. The sales served to provide an indication of a recovery in demand that some investors had discounted with job growth still weak.
The S&P retail index was up 1.3 percent. Online merchant Amazon.com was up 4.4 per cent at $140.77, its highest close in four months.
According to analysts retail sales are the whole backbone of the entire recovery. They add that if retail sales were to snap back to the levels close to where they were a couple years ago, then that will be a true recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 29.55 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 10,927.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.99 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 1,186.44 while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5.65 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 2,436.81.
According to analysts, the indexes' moderate gains were characteristic of the rally's trend. The S&P 500 has finished gradually higher since the beginning of March, rising 7.4 per cent, even with momentum indicators suggesting the rally could settle any time.