: U.S. stocks end higher after stronger-than-expected retail sales

U.S. stocks finished higher Wednesday after the Department of Commerce reported that retail sales were stronger than anticipated in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA closed 0.1% higher, while the S&P 500 SPX rose 0.3% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP climbed 0.9%, according to preliminary data from FactSet. Retail sales in the U.S. climbed 3% last month, a report Wednesday from the Commerce Department shows. That was the biggest increase in U.S. retail sales in almost two years, and above the 1.9% rise forecast by economists polled by the Wall Street Journal.

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