Stocks Climb After Retail Sales, Alcoa Earnings

SARA LEPRO

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors moved into stocks after getting encouraging readings on two of the best gauges of the U.S. economy's health: consumer spending and corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61 points Thursday after slipping the day before. The gains resume the market's climb from Monday and Tuesday, when the Dow logged an advance of 244 points, its best back-to-back advance since July.

Investors were encouraged to see that consumer spending could finally be starting to recover as retailers reported their first sales gains last month in more than a year. A closely watched gauge of sales at major retailers showed an increase of 0.1 percent for September, compared with a 1.0 percent drop a year ago. While still tepid, it was the first monthly gain in the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally since July 2008.

The upbeat mood on Wall Street began when Alcoa Inc. surprised investors with its first profit in nine months, which the aluminum company attributed to cost-cutting and rising sales to automakers.

One of the first major companies to report earnings, Alcoa's better-than-expected report and upbeat demand prediction reassured investors of a positive earnings season.