US stocks edged up on Thursday after more than expected fall in retail sales.
At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 184.34 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 38,608.61, the S&P 500 was up 14.75 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 5,015.37, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 7.69 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 15,866.83.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.33 points, or 0.07 per cent, at the open to 38,397.94. The S&P 500 opened higher by 2.52 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 5,003.14, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 6.15 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 15,865.30.
A commerce department report showed US retail sales dropped 0.8 per cent in January. The more than expected fall in retail sales has given hopes to investors for interest rates cut by the US Federal Reserve this year.
A separate report showed fewer US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to…
