Rise in Retail Sales Causes Market Rally

The Dow Jones closed up almost 180 points and the Nasdaq added over 50 points on a day where optimism ruled The Street. January retail sales data posted a 0.3% rise after the December metric declined. Analysts expected a further decline in January also.

Leading the way was Technology and Energy stocks. Traders are weighing the recent market weakness in the Tech sector and trying to time the "bottom" in Growth-Tech. The situation in Venezuela is putting pressue on Energy and led to Oil rising to $93. The country said that it would not sell Exxon Mobil (XOM), America's Largest Company.