US stocks end higher despite record retail sales plunge

New York, May 16 (IANS) US stocks reversed earlier losses to finish higher even after data showed a record slump in the country's retail sales.On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 60.08 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 23,685.42. The 30-stock average dropped more than 270 points earlier in the session, Xinhua news agency reported.The S&P 500 was up 11.20 points, or 0.39 per cent, to end at 2,863.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 70.84 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 9,014.56.Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, with communication services and consumer discretionary up 1.26 per cent and 1.06 per cent, respectively, outpacing the rest. Utilities fell 1.41 per cent, the worst-performing group.US retail sales sank 16.4 per cent in April, the Commerce Department reported on Friday, worse than forecasts of a 12 per cent drop. It is the sharpest decrease in retail sales on record as the COVID-19 pandemic forced Americans to stay at home and many businesses to close.On other data front, the preliminary reading of US consumer-sentiment survey edged up to 73.7 in May from 71.8 in April, the University of Michigan said Friday. Economists had forecast a small decline.
--IANS rt/