Stocks Rise on Strong Retail Sales Report
Stocks Rise on Strong Retail Sales ReportStocks Rise on Strong Retail Sales Report
Friday October 15, 10:35 pm ET
By Michael J. Martinez, AP Business Writer
Stocks Climb on Stronger Than Expected Retail Sales Report, Unintimidated by Higher Oil Prices
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rebounded moderately Friday as a stronger than expected retail sales report showed that higher oil prices aren't scaring consumers away from spending. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's positive comments on oil prices also encouraged investors, but the major indexes finished the week lower following sharp declines the previous two sessions.
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Wall Street has worried for months that soaring oil and gasoline prices would prompt consumers to spend less. But the Commerce Department reported that retail sales jumped 1.5 percent in September, much more than the 0.6 percent gain economists forecast.
Reassuring words from Greenspan, who said surging energy costs will have less of an impact on the economy than the energy crisis of the 1970s, cheered investors even as oil prices pushed toward $55 per barrel. A barrel of light crude settled at $54.93, up 17 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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