(MENAFN- AFP) US stocks Thursday ended higher, shrugging off some disappointing retail sales and jobless claims data.At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 62.94 points (0.39 percent) to 16,026.88.The broad-based S&P 500 tacked on 10.47 (0.58 percent) to 1,829.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 39.38 (0.94 percent) to 4,240.67.Stocks opened lower, but stayed positive following a late-morning rise after some lackluster data.US retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.4 percent in January in the second straight monthly decline, according to the Commerce Department.The Labor Department reported weekly first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose to 339,000 from 331,000 the previous week, slightly more than expected but in line with the longer-term trend.Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities, said investors saw the data as "primarily weather-related" after a streak of severe winter weather has depressed activity.Investors viewed a recent pullback in stocks as "a decent opportunity to put some money to work," said James.But Brent Schutte, a market strategist at BMO Global Asset Management, attributed the rally in stocks to a bet that the US Federal Reserve will maintain stimulus longer."It appears that the market believes the Fed is going to stay around longer," Schutte said.
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