By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks opened higher on Tuesday after the government reported retail sales jumped in February.
Briefly reclaiming its perch above 13,000, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.34% was lately up 39.89 points at 12,999.60
The S&P 500 Index SPX +0.43% added 6.31 points to 1,377.40.
Also topping a psychological milestone, the Nasdaq Composite COMP +0.54% climbed 19.33 points to 3,002.99.
The Commerce Department reported retail sales climbed 1.1% to $407.8 billion in February, while the prior two months were revised higher. Read more on retail sales.
Investors are also looking to a Federal Reserve monetary-policy decision later in the session.
For every stock falling three gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where 78 million shares traded as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern.
