Stocks Are Rallying

The Dow is up 75 points (+0.5%), the S&P 500 is up 14 points (+0.8%), and the Nasdaq is up 50 points (+1.2%)

Earlier today, we learned retail sales grew by 0.2% in December, which was a faster pace than the 0.1% expected by economists. Excluding autos and gas, core sales accelerated to 0.6% growth from 0.3% in November.

Here's Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi's Chris Rupkey with some color: "So what were consumers putting in their shopping carts in December? We already got the car and light truck sales ahead of today's retail sales report that showed sales falling to a 15.3 million annual rate in December from a post-recession high of 16.3 million in November. Furniture and building materials down 0.4%. Electronics down 2.5%. Food and beverages up 2%. Health and personal care items up 0.6%. Many of the declining categories of sales like sporting goods came after a few months of solid gains. The standout is internet sales, the so-called non-store retailers, up 1.4% in December and 14% for the year. The internet had a good holiday anyway."