Stocks Opened Higher on Retail Sales, Citi

U.S. stocks opened solidly higher on Monday, as investors cheered a stronger-than-expected jump in March retail sales and the results from Citigroup Inc.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 76.42 points, or 0.48%, to 16,103.17. The S&P 500 rose 9.99 points, or 0.55%, to 1,825.68. The Nasdaq Composite rose 24.30 points, or 0.61%, to 4,024.04.

U.S. retail sales recorded their largest gain in 1-1/2 years in March, in the latest sign the economy was emerging from its weather- induced slumber and on track to accelerate in the second quarter. The Commerce Department said on Monday retail sales increased 1.1 percent last month, the biggest rise since September 2012.

Citigroup Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly net profit as a smaller loss on its troubled assets made up for weakness in its core trading and lending businesses. First-quarter adjusted net income rose to $4.15 billion, or $1.30 per share, from $4.00 billion, or $1.29 per share a year earlier, the third-largest U.S. bank said on Monday.

TIAA-CREF agreed tp buy Nuveen Investments for $6.25 billion including debt, in the retirement- and financial-services behemoth’s largest acquisition ever, according to top executives from both companies.

Facebook Inc. FB +2.02% is getting ready to launch financial services, which would let people make payments and store their money via its social network, the Financial Times reported Monday.