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U.S. stocks higher after positive data; Dow Jones up 0.16%

Published 10/15/2012, 09:53 AM
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Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday, after better-than-expected U.S. retail sales data lifted market sentiment, although uncertainty over a bailout for Spain continued to weigh.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.16%, the S&P 500 index 0.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite index advanced rose 0.22%.

The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in September, beating expectations for a 0.8% increase.

Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose by 1.1%, outstripping expectations for a 0.6% increase.

A separate report showed that the New York Federal Reserve's index of manufacturing conditions improved to minus 6.2 in October from minus 10.4 the previous month, but remained in contraction territory for the third consecutive month.

Meanwhile, investors remained cautious amid some disappointment in markets after Madrid did not request financial aid over the weekend and a request for a bailout is now seen as increasingly unlikely ahead of regional elections on October 21.

Citigroup led financial stocks higher, with shares up 2.10%, after posting earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations. Goldman Sachs rallied 1.23% and Bank of America climbed 1.21%, while JP Morgan advanced 0.79%.

Concerns over shrinking profit margins for big lenders earnings emerged last week, following earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, although both reported stronger-than-expected profits.

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are scheduled to report later in the week.

Elsewhere, Sprint added 0.26% following reports Japan's Softbank reached a deal to buy 70% of the U.S. mobile carrier for USD20.1 billion in the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.

Also in the tech sector, Apple shares rose 0.17%, even as SNS Securities said the company could improve its iPhone maps function in a deal with TomTom.

Separately, Apple appealed a Tokyo District Court ruling that Samsung Electronics didn't infringe the iPhone maker's patents.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.79%, France’s CAC 40 surged 1.07%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.57%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.29%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index inched up 0.06%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.51%.


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