Stocks Get a Bounce

News at a Glance

The Lowdown

Stocks ended higher traders as traders seemed fairly optimistic on mixed results from the retail sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 52 points at 12867. The Nasdaq climbed 13 to 2451, and the S&P 500 had picked up 5 at 1398.

However, traders enthusiasm has held in check somewhat by record oil prices. Crude eclipsed $124 a barrel in afternoon trading. By 3:55 p.m., oil traded up $1.02 on the day at $124.55 a barrel.

Still, traders kept the indexes in the black on retailers' mixed results for April. The economic slowdown has not affected all companies (or their target demographics) equally. Wal-Mart and Costco (COST) seemed to benefit from food inflation and a renewed appreciation for bargains; the discount retailers each topped Street estimates for same-store sales. Clothing stores had a tougher month. Limited Brands (LTD) posted a 5% drop in April sales, twice the decline analysts' were expecting. Gap (GPS) saw sales fall 6%.

Retail analysts were leery about extrapolating too much from a single month's results. "It's false hope to think that these numbers show that a rebound is about to take place in consumer spending," Ken Perkins, president of sales tracking firm Retail Metrics, told CNNMoney.

The materials sector posted big gains as commodities climbed. Steel makers and gold dealers did particularly well. On the Nymex, gold took a jump forward, climbing $13.70 on the day to $884.90 an ounce.

In economic news, weekly jobless claims declined and came in a bit lower than economists had expected. Separately, the Commerce Department said wholesale inventories edged back in March.

Overseas, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England each left their benchmark interest rates unchanged at 4% and 5%, respectively. Data suggest the U.S. recession has slowed economic growth abroad.

World markets drifted lower. In Europe, the FTSE inched ahead 0.2%. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei lost 1.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.6%.

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