By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks mostly rose on Wednesday
after data showed a stronger-than-expected rise in October retail
sales.
The S&P 500 (SPX) was last up 2 points, or 0.1%, to 1,790,
while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) wavered around
15,964.
The Nasdaq Composite(RIXF) gained 11 points, or 0.3%, to
3,943.
The Dow remains near the milestone level of 16,000 after
snapping a four-day win streak in the prior session and failing to
hold above that level. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also are trading
near their own big round numbers of 1,800 and 4,000,
respectively.
Early Wednesday, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose
by 0.4% last month, beating forecasts for a flat result. In
addition, the Labor Department said the consumer price index dipped
by 0.1% in October, roughly matching what economists expected for
that inflation gauge. Stock futures added to their gains after
these reports were released.
The retail-sales report offered encouragement, although it did
show lower sales for gas stations, building materials and
miscellaneous items, said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic
strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. "Outside of those three
segments, spending rose across the board illustrating that
consumers remain upbeat ahead of the holiday season as payroll
growth advances and the economy rebounds," Wilkinson wrote in
emailed comments.
Later Wednesday, the market will take in existing-home-sales
data due at 10 a.m. Eastern time, along with minutes from the
Federal Open Market Committee's Oct. 29-30 meeting, which are
expected at 2 p.m. Eastern. Another report on tap is business
inventories at 10 a.m. Check out MarketWatch's live blog of
Wednesday's stock-market action.
* Today's market-moving news: Analysts anticipate the Fed
minutes will show continued debate about when to scale back the
central bank's $85-billion-a-month bond-buying program that has
boosted stocks. After the market's close on Tuesday, Fed Chairman
Ben Bernanke emphasized plans to continue ultra-loose monetary
policy. "The message from Bernanke's speech was very much as we
have come to expect from the chairman with an emphasis on
lower-for-longer rates and the data-dependency of [quantitative
easing]," Jim Reid, macro strategist at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a
note.
* The buzz:Marc Faber sees bubbles everywhere in finance, and he
thinks Bernanke's presumed successor, Janet Yellen, could make them
worse. Also bearish,MarketWatch columnist Jeff Reeves gives five
reasons why the next six months will bring a double-digit
correction for the S&P 500, which is up about 25% so far this
year. On a more encouraging note, Warren Buffett says stocks are
"not way overpriced," but they're also "definitely not
underpriced."
* Today's movers & shakers: J.C. Penney Co. jumped 7% as the
department-store chain said it expects comparable sales and gross
margin to both improve from a year earlier. Deere & Co. rose 2%
as the tractors maker posted quarterly profit that topped
expectations. On the downside, Lowe's Cos. fell 4% after the
home-improvement retailer's quarterly earnings missed forecasts.
Read more in the Movers & Shakers column.
* Other markets: European stocks were mixed, and Asia markets
closed mixed. Oil futures traded higher, and metals prices were
mostly lower. The dollar index fell, while Treasury prices
dipped.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires