U.S. retail sales for February increased by 0.2%, which was below forecasts. However, excluding automotive sales, the rise was 0.3%, matching expectations and relieving market concerns. In response, U.S. stocks rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 353 points, or 0.9%, closing at 41,841 points. The S&P 500 rose by 36 points, or 0.7%, closing at 5,675 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq lagged behind, gaining 54 points, or 0.3%, to close at 17,808 points.
Walmart (WMT) and IBM (IBM) shares increased by approximately 2%, bolstering the Dow's performance. Tesla (TSLA, Financial), however, faced a 4.8% decline after launching a free trial of its assisted driving service in China, marking the worst performance among Nasdaq 100 components. Nvidia (NVDA) also dropped by 1.8%, and Alphabet (GOOG) saw a 0.6% decrease.
Intel (INTC) experienced a notable rise of nearly 7%, becoming the best-performing stock among the Nasdaq 100 components, following its new CEO's plans to overhaul the company's chip business and artificial intelligence strategy.
