The S&P 500 rose slightly Thursday as Wall Street tries to claw back this week's losses. However, gains were kept in check by weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data.
The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 185.77 points at 38,610.04.
The much-broader index took on 12.44 points to 5,013.06.
The NASDAQ index tailed off 7.13 points to 15,852.02.
Earnings season continued to paint a muddled picture of corporate America. Tripadvisor jumped 8% after beating estimates on the top and
bottom lines.
On the other hand, Cisco shares were down 3% after the tech company announced layoffs and weak forward sales projections. Deere stock dropped more than 4%, after the agricultural machinery manufacturer lowered guidance for its full-year net income guidance. Shares of Alphabet slid nearly 3%.
Investors received another update about the state of the U.S. economy on Thursday, with January retail sales plunging 0.8%, much more than the 0.3% decline economists polled by Dow Jones had expected. This raised some concern about the strength of the U.S. consumer under the weight of sticky inflation and high interest rates, and sent Treasury yields down.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury surged, lowering yields to 4.21% from Wednesday's 4.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices climbed 61 cents to $77.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $11.20 to $2,015.50.