Stocks Cheer Strong Holiday Spending; Dow up 200 Points

Stocks rallied at Thursday's midday trading on positive November retail sales data. The Dow Jones Industrial is up better than 200 points. Falling oil prices drove the markets to sell-off this week and is now credited for helping the holiday shopping season's strong start. Exxon Mobil is the best Dow performer. Big moves are happening in the office retail space. Staples (SPLS) and competitor Office Depot (ODP) are spiking after activist investor Starboard Value raised its stake in the companies. Speculations are Starboard will push for the two to merge. Walgreen (WAG) is trading higher on the announcement its CEO will retire once the merger with Alliance Boots is completed. Earnings releases are helping specialty retailers. Restoration Hardware (RH) is up following a surge in Q3 sales growth and raising its full year outlook. Lululemon (LULU) is stretching higher after beating profit expectations.