Retailers Give Stocks Modest Bump; Sales Push Up Limited Brands and AutoNation, but Merck Declines 2.7%
Author: Kristina Peterson; Brendan Conway</br></br>NEW YORK--Stocks advanced modestly as encouraging readings on retail sales outweighed worries over Egypt one session before Friday's monthly jobs report.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.29 points, or 0.2%, to 12062.26, the highest close since the middle of June 2008. The advance was kept in check by Merck, which led decliners as it fell 92 cents, or 2.7%, to $32.90, after swinging to a fourth-quarter loss. Earnings and revenue topped Wall Street's expectations, but the drug maker's forecast for full-year adjusted earnings fell below analysts' predictions.</br></br>The Nasdaq Composite edged up 4.32, or 0.1%, to 2753.88, the seventh advance in the past nine sessions. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index added 3.07, or 0.2%, to 1307.10, led by consumer discretionary stocks.</br></br>"The backdrop is the U.S. economy is still in an improving state, and the majority of the economic data support that, whether we're talking about retail sales or the GDP report," said Jason Pride, director of investment strategy at Glenmede Investment & Wealth Management.