U.S. stocks were higher in early trading on Friday as investors welcomed a surge in retail sales and an upbeat earnings report from search engine Google Inc. The Dow industrials lately rose 88.55 points to 11,566.68. The S&P 500 climbed 10.69 points to 1,214.35. The Nasdaq added 24.94 points to 2,645.18.
The Commerce Department on Friday reported a 1.1% rise, the largest since February, in September retail sales, following a 0.3% gain for August, with the latter figure revised up from the prior estimate.
Google Inc is likely to emerge as a “top mobile play,” according to Wall Street analysts, with several raising their price targets on the stock, some by as much as 10 percent. Shares of Google were up on Friday, a day after the company reported a 26-percent rise in third-quarter earnings — ahead of market estimates — helped by growing online ad market and sharper research focus.
Oil prices are climbing to near $87 per barrel on encouraging economic news in the U.S. and China. Benchmark crude rose $2.50, or 3 percent, at $86.73 per barrel in New York, while Brent crude rose $3.17, or 2.9 percent, to $114.28 in London.
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