Stocks climbed at today's opening, buoyed by a record surge in retail sales, more progress in the war in Afghanistan and positive earnings from companies like Hewlett-Packard Co.
High-tech stocks led the way, and the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index rose 21.01 points, or 1.11 per cent, to 1,913.12.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 67.78 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 9,818.73, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 5.68 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 1,144.77.
The government reported retail sales surged 7.1 per cent last month after shrinking 2.2 per cent in September, boosted by cheap financing for new cars. The October increase cruised past forecasts for a 2.7 per cent jump and showed consumers were rebounding from the shock of the September 11 attacks.
The Taliban's hard-line Islamic rule was unraveling in Afghanistan, one day after US-backed opposition forces took the country's capital. But the United States was still searching for Osama bin Laden - the suspect behind the air attacks on New York and Washington that killed about 5,000 people.
Hewlett-Packard Co. jumped $2.77 to $23 and was the most active on the New York Stock Exchange after the Dow component's results beat analysts' forecasts even though it posted lower profits as sales contracted while business and consumer delayed technology buying.