U.S. stocks battle higher on retail and carmaker numbers; DOW up 0.17%
Published Jan 04, 2012 04:32PM ET
At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.17%, the S&P 500 moved higher by 0.02% and the Nasdaq Composite index lagged by falling 0.01%.
U.S. equities fell at the open as orders for factory goods advanced 1.8% missing economist's estimate of 2%
The International Council of Shopping Centers estimated that retail sales at stores open more than a year may have gained as much as 4.5% in December, beating estimates and fuelling the bullish advance.
Carmakers surged higher after Ford said total company sales soared 10% in December, the biggest positive move since 2005.
Giri Cherukuri of Oakbrook Investments told Bloomberg, "We started the day with a bit of a pullback from yesterday's strong rise, and then the data we got helps the market and firms up conviction that the U.S. economy is doing well."
Retailers led the advance with Lowes adding 3.5%, Home Depot gaining 1.2% and Urban Outfitters climbing 2.2%.
Ford added 2.9% after announcing a 10% sales increase in December helping to lift the automakers.
Even media joined in the optimism with Netflix climbing 9.1% after use of its service exceeded analysts estimates
On a bearish note, Yahoo gave back 2.7% after appointing the former president of PayPal as CEO due to ousting former head Carol Bartz for failing to lead a turnaround, and Eastman Kodak plunged 30% on bankruptcy fears.
In the euro zone, a lackluster German bond auction combined with Italian bank liquidity fears pressured European stocks lower on the session.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed with the EURO STOXX 50 closed off by 1.67%, France's CAC 40 fell 1.59%, while Germany's DAX 30 advanced 0.89%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 dropped 0.55%.
Investors are awaiting unemployment data and oil stockpiles on Thursday.
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Written By: Investing.com
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