US stocks jump on good retail sales

The US bourse is set to open higher as European leaders get ready to meet.

The US bourse is set to open higher as European leaders get ready to meet.

Published Apr 14, 2014

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New York - Wall Street stocks Monday opened decisively higher following a big jump in US retail sales and a better-than-expected earnings report from Citigroup.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 83.52 points (0.52 percent) to 16,110.27.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 12.74 (0.70 percent) to 1,828.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 35.58 (0.89

percent) to 4,035.31.

The early gains came on the heels of deep losses in the stock market Thursday and Friday.

US retail sales surged 1.1 percent higher in March to $433.9 billion as consumers ramped up spending following brutally cold weather earlier in the winter.

The Commerce Department also said February retail sales rose 0.7 percent from the prior month, raising its prior estimate of 0.3 percent.

The good retail sales data were accompanied by an earnings report from US banking giant Citigroup, which said profits excluding special items were $1.23 per share, above the analyst estimate of $1.14 per share.

Citi shares rose 4.1 percent. - Sapa-AFP

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